Cat's Paw
by ClanCrusher
Summary: At the age of eight, Ranma ran from the teachings of Genma, unintentionally dodging the harem in Nerima. Unfortunately, this was merely the equivalent of sidestepping a pothole and falling off a bridge.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know I know. Just... give it a chance. Have I ever let you down before? Wait, hold on. Don't answer that. Just read it.

* * *

I don't think the old man ever realized just how scarring the Neko Ken really was to me. From what little I remember of my life back home, there had always been this white and gold stripped cat that was with me wherever I went. Every single one of my memories of that time seemed to have that cat in there, sometimes in the background, other times sitting on my lap for attention, ordering me to feed her (cats never asked after all) and so on. I don't remember much, but I do remember loving that cat to death.

And then my old man came up with the great idea of giving me the Neko Ken training. It did more than just mentally scar me. It seemed to rip all the childhood memories I'd had from my mind in order to protect my psych. I couldn't even try to remember them without intense pain. I couldn't leven ook at a cat without remembering the pit.

I couldn't remember my one childhood friend and bothersome pet.

At the age of eight, I abandoned my father, before he could strip away any more of my memories. One night, after he'd spent a long night at the bar, I raided his backpack, taking everything of value. The technique scrolls he'd had, the money he'd stolen, the route he'd planned out for our training trip, and even his lesson plans. And then I ran, using all the techniques the old man had taught me on how to cover my tracks and hide my presence. Genma had always operated under the fact that I was just a young kid with nowhere to go and wouldn't think of running away from him. As such, my escape had caught him completely flatfooted.

In all honestly, I was lucky. More than I care to admit. Over the course of the two years, I used all that I knew to survive off the wild, using things he'd taught me and others that I learned from his manuals. I practiced martial arts vigorously, it was the one thing I was truly good at and the only thing that was helping me to survive. I must have come close to death about four times. A pack of starving wolves, a band of thieves, a wild tiger, and a treacherous waterfall were just a few of the things that nearly killed me.

It truly was one of those man versus nature things, with me against the wilds of Japan, only descending into civilization when I couldn't find food. I made sure never to stay in one place for too long. I didn't want any word of my presence leaking out and somehow making its way back to my father, nor did I want to deal with the authorities who would be law-bound to contact my father if they could.

And then, everything changed.

* * *

It happened one night while I was traveling through a small shopping district during the evening hours, looking for a place to steal a little food from. It had been slim pickings for a while now and I knew I was going to have to relocate soon. I had been a bit reluctant to leave though, since my current home was a rather comfortable cave, abandoned by its previous animal occupant.

As I was hopping from roof to roof, keeping my nose sharp for any whiffs of available food, I heard a scream, which was quickly muffled. The sounds of a struggle were reaching my ears now as I unconsciously made my way towards the noise.

Few of the old man's lessons had stayed with me over my years-long trek through the wilds, but the most prominent one always seemed to stay, no matter how much I wanted to forget the old man himself.

"A martial artists' duty is to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

It was written at the top of every scroll he had and repeated in my head like a mantra as I watched a girl, maybe eight or nine years old being accosted by two figures in long coats. Their intent was clear and my anger was boiling. Silently, I leaped from the roof, aiming a kick at the man who was watching his partner covering the girl's mouth.

I hit him at terminal velocity, sending his face into the pavement in a spray of blood, violently knocking him out. The other man only had a second to react to the noise before my foot met his face. I was used to fighting people bigger than I was since my only sparring partner had been Genma for the last three years.

Recoiling from the blow, I dropped to the ground and aimed a kick right at his crotch, hobbling the guy over in pain. Grabbing the man's hair, I used my knee to finish him off, breaking his nose and sending him to dream land.

Breathing softly, I walked over to the two guys and began stripping them of their valuables. Money, watches, cell phones, and a couple of knives in their pockets. The looting finished, I turned to leave when the little girl finally found her voice.

"W-wait!"

I paused as the girl slowly got to her feet, regaining her confidence as the terror of her previous situation slowly faded. As she stood up fully, the shaking stopped as she bowed to me. "Thank you very much," she said politely. "My name is Nanami, what's yours?"

"Rah...ra..Ranma."

My throat stuck a little as I tried to form the Japanese in my mouth. I hadn't really talked to anyone in months, my only human interaction being at times where I beat up thugs like these and briefly dropping into a convenience store to buy things with their looted money. Even then I'd barely done more than nod and shake my head. I'd purposely left my last name out.

"Thank you...Ranma," she repeated cutely, bowing again.

"Your welcome," I got out after a minute. Opening the wallets, I withdrew the money. It wasn't much, but it was enough to buy a hot meal for tonight. My tummy grumbled audibly at the thought. I'd long ago given up starting cooking fires. They tended to attract the wrong kind of attention, both human and animal.

"Um, excuse me Ranma?" She was speaking again so I turned to listen. I eyed her as she timidly approached from the shadows of the alley into the streetlight where I could get a better look at her.

Height-wise, she was about an inch shorter than me, with large black eyes and straight brown hair tied off into two short braids with matching pink ribbons. A sleeveless shirt and pair of jean-shorts completed the cute ensemble. She was clutching onto a shopping bag with her right hand, probably full of food items.

I didn't speak but turned to look at her, letting her continue.

"Are you hungry?" I didn't respond, but my stomach was still growling loud enough for her to hear. "Would you like to eat at my place?"

I was still a Saotome by blood. Capitalizing on a free meal was almost hard-coded into our genetics. I nodded the affirmative, causing a smile to break out on her face.

* * *

Nanami, apparently, lived in an apartment with her mother, who was the landlady of the complex. It seemed like a decent middle class living place, with clean rooms and a small, but nice-looking building. Nanami chatted constantly, filling in the void of silence that I'd grown accustomed to. It was odd, listening to someone talk so much when I'd grown used to the sounds of the wild and the self-imposed solitary confinement, but it wasn't bothersome.

Still holding onto my hand, Nanami led me up the steps to the top (third) level of the building before knocking excitedly on one of the doors.

"Coming!" The voice belonged to a middle aged lady. A minute later, the door opened. "Oh, who's this?" The woman's voice was sweet and motherly, almost fitting the stereotype of a caring mother to a tee.

"His names Ranma!" she provided happily. "He saved my life!"

Nanami's mother's eyebrows disappeared into her brown hair. "Oh really? That's wonderful." She ushered us both inside. I barely remembered in time to take my well-worn shoes off. It'd been almost five years since I'd entered a house of any kind.

"So tell me," she said as we sat down around the table. "How did your friend save your life?" She talked as though she were humoring her daughter.

"He beat up some bad men that wanted to take my clothes away."

The shock was clear on the woman's face. It took a moment for her to regain her composure. "Nanami honey, why don't you tend to the pot on the stove?" Her voice was shaky.

"Okay mom," she said happily, jumping off the chair and running to the kitchen.

"Ranma...was it?" She addressed me directly now. I nodded at her to continue. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

I talked slowly, focusing on forming the words in my head before I spoke them. "She was being attacked by a couple of guys. I made them stop."

"You called the police?" she asked hesitantly.

I shook my head. "No. I beat them up." Reaching into my worn but still functional pocket, I withdrew the two wallets I had looted from their bodies and pushed them towards Nanami's mother. Her eyes continued to widen as she saw the people and their ages.

"How?" she asked weakly.

"Martial arts," I said simply. It wasn't as though they were that much older than me. Twenty-five years at most.

"Where did this happen?"

I described the place. I couldn't remember the street name, but she seamed to recognize the location because a minute later she was on the phone with the police, giving the names of the two people whose wallets I'd acquired. I didn't really pay attention to the conversation, but I didn't hear my name mentioned. The story she gave was that some stranger had helped her daughter out and given her their wallets, telling her to run home and call the police.

She hung up the phone a second later and sat down across from me. "I don't know how you did it," she began. "But you probably saved my daughters life. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

"I just came for the food," I replied awkwardly. I wasn't used to being treated like an adult.

She smiled brightly at my request. "That's something I can do."

* * *

The police came during dinner, taking a testimony from the mother and daughter along with the looted wallets. Both were careful not to mention my name. The thugs had been found in the alley, still unconscious when the authorities had arrived to pick them up. When she heard the news, Nanami's mother looked at me with surprise. Obviously she had still doubted my story beforehand.

After the authorities had left, the atmosphere grew more relaxed as the conversation turned to mundane things like Nanami's day at school and what her friends were up to. I mostly stayed silent, concentrating on my food and savoring what may have been the last hot meal I'd get for a long time. Occasionally, Nanami or her mother would ask me a question, to which I responded to with short, one-word answers.

I wasn't eating fast intentionally, but I still finished first. "Thanks for the meal," I said when there was a lull in the conversation. I was getting ready to leave when Nanami's mother interrupted me.

"Ranma? Why don't you let me call your parents so they can pick you up."

I shook my head softly. "Don't have any." Not any that I wanted to see again anyways. I couldn't remember my mother at all. Wasn't even sure if she was alive. My pops had said she was dead, but it was hard to believe anything that he said.

"Do you have a last name?"

I shook my head again.

"Do you have a place to live?"

Another shake of my head. I could see the sympathy building in her eyes. She probably just saw me as a young kid without a home when in truth, I was far from defenseless. I'd made it on my own for this long after all.

"Ranma," she started softly. "Would you like to stay here for a while in this apartment?"

Nanami's eyes seemed to light up at the news. "Can Ranma stay with us? Really?"

"Well, it's up to him," she chided gently. "You'd be working as an employee here. Helping me clean the place up. In return, I'll let you use one of the rooms on the second floor. How does that sound?"

"I can work," I responded softly.

"Good. Now, let's get you settled in for the night."

* * *

"It's a bit dusty, but nothing a clean rag won't fix," said Nanami's mother as she unlocked the door to the room. The place was small, consisting of a main living room, a smaller bedroom, an attached kitchenette, and presumably a closed door leading to a water closet.

"Our rooms don't contain showers, but there's a public bath just down the street," she continued, moving over to the closet and pulling out a futon. "Feel free to sleep on this for now."

I nodded my thanks and took the offered futon. Questions were starting to enter my mind, like why was she offering me a job when I was obviously underage? Why was she letting me stay here for free? The only question I asked though, was why?

She seemed to think about it for a minute while she arranged things in the closet. "Nanami's father died when she was very young," she explained sadly. "And her grandparents passed away recently." I could see the tiny beginnings of tears in her eyes. "I was an only child, and most days it seems like Nanami is the only thing I have left in this world. And you protected her from people so much bigger and stronger than you."

Well, that was half-true anyways. Mutely, I responded with, "It's a martial artists duty to protect those who can't protect themselves."

Nanami's mother was smiling now, tears visible in her eyes. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come when you did." Her voice was beginning to break up, and I was starting to feel rather awkward. She didn't seem to be expecting a response though.

"I want you to stay here as long as you want Ranma. Thank you so much for looking after my little girl." Before I could mumble out a response, she had knelt down and hugged me, crying almost too softly to hear. "I'm sorry, I'm getting all emotional." Sniffing softly, she released her hold, giving me a small smile. "I'll wake you up early tomorrow so try and get some rest tonight."

* * *

After that first night, things gradually started falling into a routine. Every morning I woke up early and ran to a nearby park to go through my routine. For some reason there were an unusual number of cats there that somewhat hindered my workouts, but as long as I stayed off the main path they usually didn't bother me.

Nanami's mother put me to work as promised, at first with basic cleaning jobs. Of course, when she found out that I was somehow able to get the entire complex clean in under an hour, my duties were upgraded to minor repairs and maintenance. Even with all those jobs though, my work rarely lasted more than a couple hours. To me, it was just another training exercise, and I was good at training.

Per her mother's request, I also began escorting her daughter to and from school, a small paranoia still present from the events on the night of my arrival. Nanami was all too happy to show me around town and show me off to her friends as her new big brother. It had only taken one beaten up bully to establish me as her unofficial protector, and her as untouchable.

The rest of the day I usually just spent training. Stealthily running from roof to roof, trying not to be noticed, stealing items from stores and putting them back without the owners noticing, and stopping the occasional street criminal.

Mostly, I tried my hardest to overcome my fear of cats. Progress was slow. Painfully slow. The first time I tried approaching the cats in the park, I couldn't get within a hundred meters. Even when I couldn't see them, I could still feel them on the edge of my senses. Every time I tried to walk closer, my body instinctively moved backwards, like someone moving their hand off of a hot stove that just burned them.

I had just gone through a week of failed attempts before I started to get discouraged, but then, something rather strange happened.

* * *

The door opened with a bang, admitting Nanami and her seemingly limitless energy. "Onii-san! Look what I got!"

I paused midway in my one-handed pushup to see her new purchase. She'd often come to my room to model clothes for me, seeking my approval. I don't know why since my clothes rarely ever changed from my classic Chinese shirt and slacks, but I humored her anyways.

What I saw today though, made me lose my balance and topple onto the floor. She was wearing cat ears. I couldn't recall exactly what happened after that, but I remember screaming, losing my balance, and hitting my head hard enough to see stars.

"Ranma! Ranma! What's wrong?"

I closed my eyes and focused on Nanami's voice. She wasn't a cat. Didn't sound like a cat. The only thing she had was cat ears. I felt Nanami's hand on my shoulder, her body language showing how anxious she was. Slowly, I began opening my eyes, focusing first on her feet. As I moved my eyes up her body, I repeated to myself "Not a cat, just Nanami" like a mantra. Finally, after what seemed like forever, my eyes came to rest on her worried face and attached cat ears.

"Onii-san? Are you okay?" she repeated.

I took a deep breath and focused on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. They look great sis."

Her worried face broke into a cute grin. "Yay! Thank you onii-san." Before I could react, she threw her arms around me in a hug, putting her cat ears right in front of my face. Biting back my initial panic reflex, I steeled myself and gave her a quick pat on the back.

"Why don't you go show your mother?" I asked quickly. Getting an affirmative nod, Nanami bounded out of the room and up the stairs. As soon as she was out the door, I let out a sigh of relief and a shiver of fright. That had severely tested my self control.

But, my mind thought suddenly, it didn't break it. And what doesn't break you, makes you stronger.

Almost unwillingly, my mind started formulating a plan. Nanami had triggered my phobia, but I was able to restrain myself. Maybe it was because she wasn't a full cat, but only part cat.

A catgirl.

My mind almost rebelled at the sheer ridiculousness of it. Despite being on the road nearly all my life, I wasn't quite that oblivious. Catgirls were an acute otaku fetish and had more than their fair share of hentai material associated with them. If anyone ever found me with that kind of material...

I didn't even know why I was debating this. I was a martial artist. Almost anything that would help me further my art was a sacrifice I was willing to make, and being known to like catgirls was a rather small sacrifice comparatively. It's not like I was a pervert or anything, it was just for the sake of training. Really.

Acquiring the posters was easy. After I had been turned into the apartment's handyman, Nanami's mother had begun giving me a small weekly paycheck. I still had dinner with them every night so my food budget was pretty low, and after one clothes shopping trip, I didn't need another one.

Putting up the posters around my room was much harder. To help myself, I focused on the girl parts, keeping the ears and tails in my peripheral vision. Even so, I was sweating by the time I had finished setting up the last of them.

Trying to convince Nanami and her mother that I wasn't some type of otaku was near impossible, so I didn't even try. Being known to have a catgirl fetish was a small price to pay for getting over my phobia. I did notice that Nanami seemed to wear her cat ears around the apartment more often though.

Things continued on this way for about a month. I'd wake up early, stare at my cat posters for about an hour, before running off to the park to train until I was too tired to feel fear. Afterward, I'd run back to the apartment to walk Nanami to school, and then back to do my janitorial duties.

Progress was still slow, but looking at the posters was getting easier. I could now almost completely focus on their ears and tails and not have the urge to bolt from the room. Thinking about cats was starting to get easier too. I still couldn't picture a full one in my mind without instinctively shutting it out, but I could say the word out loud without stuttering now. Nanami's cat girl outfit didn't cause any reaction at all anymore.

And then, a new monkey wrench was thrown into the works.

* * *

_Two Months Later..._

"School?"

"Yes Ranma, school." Nanami's mother had her arms crossed in front of her, a no nonsense gaze on her face. I could already tell I wasn't going to win this argument even before it began.

"What do I need school for?" I protested weakly.

"Basic life skills. Reading, writing, doing math, acquiring the things you need to get a job and make a living," she listed off.

"But I have a job."

"That's sweet of you Ranma, but I can't realistically expect you to take care of this place for the rest of your life. Even Nanami will move on eventually. No, you need this. Besides, you can protect Nanami better there." She pressed a school bag into my hands.

Reluctantly, I took it, but not without one last protest. "She doesn't need protection. Hits harder than a tomboy."

"I heard that!" came Nanami's voice from the other room.

"I bought your uniform yesterday. Would you like to try it on now?"

I blinked. "I have to wear a uniform?"

"Of course you do Ranma, why would you think otherwise?"

"Eh, no reason."

I sighed absently as I shouldered my book bag and walked on the narrow strip of the fence. "Man, what a waste of time."

"You didn't even stay awake!" Shouted Nanami from below.

"I could have just been sleeping in my room, but now I had to waste precious sleep time in school."

"You're not supposed to sleep in school!"

"Why not?"

Nanami stopped for a minute to think about it. "Because the teachers told us not to!" Was all she could come up with.

I rolled my eyes at that before casually catching the book bag thrown at me. "Why do we have to listen to what the teachers say?"

"Because we have to!" she responded childishly.

"Why do we have to?" I replied innocently.

"Quit being mean!"

I laughed and ran ahead of her while balancing on the fence, but not fast enough to leave her behind. I had to look out for her after all.

"Meow!"

I stopped on the fence in mid stride at the sound of the cat. For some reason, I hadn't felt it on the edge of my senses like I normally did. Slowly, I brought my foot down, watching interestedly as a small white cat, smaller than the length of my arm, crawled out onto the fence and began walking towards me.

There was an initial surge of terror that I desperately fought back. Amazingly, I even seemed to be gaining some ground against it, but I couldn't stop myself from taking a couple steps backwards. The cat, as if suddenly noticing my presence, turned its head to stare at me curiously, locking its eyes with mine. Unconsciously, my body began to tremble as I entered into a staring contest with the feline, who seemed content to just keep watching me.

"I think it wants to get by." I jumped as Nanami's voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

Hesitantly, I hopped off the fence and let the cat walk by, receiving an annoyed glance as it passed.

"Onii-san? Are you okay? You're sweating," said Nanami nervously.

At long last the cat finally went out of sight, allowing me to collapse onto my knees from the adrenaline rush. Dimly, I could hear Nanami's worried voice in the background, but I couldn't make out the words. Slowly, I felt consciousness leave me, but at the same time I didn't mind too much. I was able to stand in the vicinity of a cat for one minute without running, screaming, or yelling. And that was progress in my book.

* * *

_Somewhere unknown..._

"Amazing. Simply amazing."

I didn't recognize the voice above me, nor could I readily move my body. The very air around me felt like wet cement. Slowly, I opened my eyes, only to see a large white-

"YAAAHHH!"

Adrenaline flooded my system and I shot up suddenly, accidentally hitting the big white cat in the head.

"Meoooooww!"

I turned, getting a good look at what I had just unintentionally hit. It was a white animal with yellow eyes and a red collar with a golden bell attached. In every sense of the word, it looked like a cat, however...

"You're not a cat," I declared.

The white...thing rubbed his nose a few times. "How rude! Of course I'm a cat, can't you tell? That really hurt by the way."

"Cats can't talk," I pointed out. Really, it was rather obvious.

"Your mind is just in denial right now," he explained easily. "Would it help if I looked more like this?" His body began to transform, his dimensions getting smaller and his body transforming into a classic feline variety.

"Alright alright! Fine, you're a c-cat. What do you want? Actually, where am I? Better yet, who are you?" The initial shock over, questions were starting to pop into my mind like fireworks.

The creature (not cat) returned to his form with a slight 'pop'. "Well, to answer your questions in no particular order, I'm the god of all cats, I wished to speak to you, and your soul is currently in that weird gray zone between the real world and reality that no one has ever really found a good name for."

"Limbo?" I asked hesitantly.

"Not even close to that hell-hole," he responded shortly.

"Purgatory?"

"I'm a cat god. Do I look catholic to you?"

"Well what do you call it then?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"A nice break from divine duties and a good escape from the wife." Seeing my confused look, he shook his head. "Don't worry kid, you'll understand when you're older."

I shook my head, brushing off his last statement. "So, why exactly am I here again?"

"Well, honestly, I was just here to comment on how amazing it was that you were able to make such great progress in curing the Neko-ken."

I flinched at the mention of the technique. "Progress? It's been two months and the only 'progress' I've made is being able to stare at a cat-girl without shaking in terror! Just being in the vicinity of a cat for one minute knocked me out cold!"

"I think the important part is that you are trying," said the cat god smoothly. "Honestly, you've made it farther than most. Up until now, everyone who has tried the technique turned into a berserker or died during training. You've at least kept your sanity."

"This isn't making me feel any better," I spat out bitterly. "I don't suppose you have any sort of...oh I dunno, divine assistance to offer or something?"

The cat god seemed to think about it for a minute. "Nope. I'm just here to pat you on the back and tell you good job and to keep at it."

The only thing keeping me from punching him at that moment was that he could turn into a cat at will. "Okay. Great. Compliment accepted. Can I go now?"

My sarcasm didn't seem to register with the cat. "Sure thing. Now just close your eyes and-"

POOF!

I blinked as a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared in front of me. "Now hold on just a minute dear," said a distinctly female voice, coming from the smokescreen.

"Oh dear," said the cat god, looking genuinely worried. "Brace yourself kid."

It was only due to my 'training' with the catgirl posters that stopped me from running in terror. This woman was a real-life catgril, complete with ears, tails, and sharp claws. Her skin was a dark brown, her chest was of enviable size, and only a small golden bikini covered it.

"Hello dear," muttered the cat god sullenly.

"Why do you always go off and play with the mortals without me?" she complained, making a cute face.

"Because you're always too soft on them," he countered quickly. "Every time you see one you can't resist-"

"Oh you got a cute one this time!" she squealed excitedly before running over to me and enveloping me in a hug.

"-hugging them," finished the cat-god lamely. It was apparent that this was an age-old discussion between the two.

I was barely listening to the words being spoken, trying desperately not to run and scream in absolute terror, even though many men would have killed to be in my position right now. I could feel the fur on her soft chest, smell the telltale cat aroma, and could feel her petting the top of my head as if _I _were a cat.

The cat-woman seemed to realize something was wrong from my lack of reaction as she pulled back after a few seconds of petting. Kneeling down, she looked into my wide eyes. "Oh dear, is he a neko-ken victim?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes," said the cat-god miserably. "I was trying to give him some words of encouragement-"

"C-cop out!" I stuttered weakly.

"-because he's kept his sanity more than anyone else I've ever seen," he finished as though I hadn't interrupted.

"Well, he seems to be regaining motor control," said the cat-goddess nicely. "Are you afraid of me little child?" she asked kindly.

Her sad face was almost too much to resist. "N-no," I lied shakily.

"Aw, he's trying so hard too. We should help him!" she decided resolutely.

"But Bast sweetie, you know the rules. The amount that we can influence the the human world-"

"-is limited and regulated," she finished easily. "But what if we..." She trailed off and a small smile appeared on her face. For some reason, it started to give me shivers completely unrelated to the neko-ken.

Walking over to her husband (at least I guess it was her husband), she knelt down and conspiratorially whispered something in his ear. The cat-god began nodding his head slowly. "Yes, yes, that could definitely work. That's a great plan dear."

"Of course it is, I thought it up," she teased lightly. "Well Ranma, it looks as though you'll be getting a divine gift soon!"

"Wait, what?" My mind suddenly snapped back to reality, having been fighting my terror back down into the recesses of my mind.

"We can't give it to you right away though," said the cat-god. "You'll have to wait a few more years. Something to look forward to on your sixteenth birthday I suppose."

"Um...thanks?" I was rather confused. What on earth could be so dangerous that I'd have to wait till I was sixteen to get it?

"Make sure to keep up your 'training' though," said Bast with a wink.

"It'll help when the time comes," finished the cat-god.

"You should probably wake up now," suggested Bast. "That cute human girl is starting to worry about you."

"_-nma! Ranma! Onii-san!"_

Nanami's voice seemed to echo in my head. As my vision of the small Japanese house faded, Nanami's voice grew louder.

* * *

"Onii-san!"

The minute my eyes opened, a crying Nanami immediately tackle-hugged me. I quickly returned the embrace, softy petting her back and muttering reassurances into her ear. A minute later, Nanami's mother came into the room, smiling at the scene.

"Now now Nanami, let the poor kid breathe," she chided gently, attempting to pry apart Nanami's iron grip. After trying (and failing) she sat down across from me. "So what happened to you Ranma?"

"Huh?"

My mind was still spinning with the otherworldly conversation I'd just had, so I was a little slow on the uptake.

"Nanami said you fainted on the way home from school. Is there some medical condition you have that we should know about?" she asked kindly.

"Oh um, nothing like that," I began nervously. "I just have a bit of a cat problem. One caught me by surprise and I fainted."

Nanami's mother looked at me skeptically. "If you fainted from seeing a cat, that seems to be a bit more than a problem."

"If you're afraid of cats," came Nanami's muffled voice from my chest. "Then why do you have cat-girl posters in your room?"

I winced as I saw Nanami's mother raise an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young for those?"

"It's training!" I protested loudly. "I'm not as 'fraid of them as I am of real cats."

Nanami's mother still looked skeptical, but thankfully decided to let the subject drop. "Why are you so afraid of cats?" she asked instead.

"I don't like talking about it," I said sullenly.

"That's okay. You don't have to," she assured me. "Just try not to worry us in the future okay?"

I nodded my agreement and the older woman left the two of us alone.

"Onii-san?" Nanami's tears had died down now.

"Yeah?" I asked hesitantly.

With a small sniffle, she looked into my eyes. "Promise me you won't leave, okay?"

I blinked. "Um...well-"

"Promise!" She practically shouted at me.

"Alright alright. I promise. Yeesh. Tomboy."

I received a light smack on the head for that, but there wasn't any malice behind it.

* * *

_Several dozen miles away..._

Ranma's picture wasn't getting him anywhere anymore. People had recognized the small boy for the first few towns he'd tried, but Ranma was nothing if not a fast learner, sticking to the wilds when possible and remaining unseen when entering towns and villages. Nowadays, he'd been reduced to looking for abandoned campsites and telltale signs of human habitation.

It was a losing battle though. The boy had been steadily getting better at hiding the signs of his presence, and the last trail of his had just gone cold. Almost as if he knew someone was still following him.

"At least I taught the kid well enough,"

Japan, haystack. Ranma, needle. In the end though, it didn't really matter. He couldn't go to the Tendo dojo without the boy, and he'd never return to Nodoka without him either. Slipping Ranma's picture back into his gi, the martial artist made his way towards a convenience store, preparing to secure his evening meal.

* * *

_Several hundred miles away..._

"Where the hell am I now?" Ryoga looked around, desperately trying to find a familiar landmark, but failing. For some reason, he thought that it should be someone's fault, but for the life of him he couldn't think of a name.

* * *

_About a thousand miles away..._

Akane sat idly at the table, drumming her fingers as she watched the nondescript television program being aired.

"Hey sis," said Nabiki, looking up from her manga.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think ClanCrusher is ever going to give us a significant role in _any_ of his stories?"

Akane sighed. "Nope. Probably not."

* * *

_In a galaxy far far away..._

"Ranma! Use the force!"

"It's ki god dammit!"

END

* * *

A/N: I...really don't have an explanation for this story. It's just...an idea. I don't know. It is going to be my first attempt at writing a romantic comedy story, so bear with me, and please let me know if you spot anything I could do better at. The next chapter will involve a six year jump forward, and the big reveal of Ranma's 'present' from the gods.

As always, reviews are appreciated, criticism even more so. Flames will probably be dissected and discussed on my forums, because that's what I do. I will make an effort to respond to everyone's reviews, as they are the only thing I'm getting from this (other than valuable writing experience that is).


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Someone really needs to tell me why this story is so absurdly popular. Seriously, I've written _one_ chapter for this story, and already the feedback has far surpassed the stats of all my other story's first chapters. Who knows, maybe there's just more people reading fanfiction nowadays. Or perhaps people don't update as often in the summer. Either way, enjoy the next installment of Cat's Paw.

* * *

"Come here little guy," I said shakily, brandishing the food in my hand like a shield.

The monster looked at me warily, as if expecting an underhanded trick of some kind. Hunger finally won out over reason though, and he slowly began approaching, hungry but wary. As the creature crept closer, my body began to shake again, no matter how hard I tried to subdue it.

Three feet now...t-two feet...one f-f-fuck it. Turning my hand over, I dumped the food onto the ground and stepped back as fast as I could. The stray cat mewled happily and pounced on the offering, now completely ignoring me.

I sighed and sat back down on the ground, watching silently as the cat ate. I'd been doing this exercise for five years now, and I still couldn't bring myself to actually touch a cat. I could get close to one without freaking out (too much) but they still scared me.

I'd had grown mostly immune to my cat-girl posters, although that might have been my mind rationally deciding that they were more like people than cats. Meditation did nothing for me anymore. For some reason, my mind just seemed incapable of rationalizing my fear, making me incapable of thinking about it properly. Either way, I'd hit a dead end once again, and this time no amount of cat-girl posters were going to help.

I turned as I heard a sigh behind me to see Nanami sitting on one of the park benches, watching me. "Still at it Ranma?"

"It's a weakness," I said simply. "I need to continue working to overcome it."

Nanami shook her head sadly. "Just make sure they don't follow you back this time. No pets in the apartment remember?"

As if I'd ever want one of those furry monsters to follow me anywhere. She had a point though. My daily training exercises had begun to gather a large crowd of strays. Moving away from the feeding frenzy taking place, I took a small trail off the main park pathway and into the somewhat secluded surrounding forest, Nanami following close behind to observe the rest of my morning routine.

I started out slow, beginning with the absolute basics; punches, blocks, and kicks. Slowly, I began speeding up, making the most of the space in the clearing. Occasionally, I would make a leap and do several attacks in the air before falling to the ground and finishing the form. Other times I would stay in the air for minutes at a time, keeping my height by rebounding off the trees and branches. Finally, at the height of my speed, I rebounded off of a tree and crashed into the ground, making a small crater.

Facing one of the taller trees in the clearing, I gathered my internal energies, letting them flow to a focal point in my hands. Concentrating as well as I could, I threw my hands forward in a cross chop.

"KIJIN RASHUU DAN!"

The air in front of me rippled with my blow before slamming into the tree. The wood seemed to groan in protest for a bit before the entire thing toppled towards me, split off from its base. From the sideline, I heard Nanami give a small gasp. She had been a constant companion to my morning routines, but this new addition had apparently caught her off guard.

I waited until the tree was at a forty-five degree angle before I began moving again.

"KIJIN-GUN DAI RANBU!"

I began moving into another kata, this one of my own making. Quickly and precisely, I began throwing vacuum blades, one after the other, each one cutting off part of the tree at a measured length. By the time the last of the tree was ready to fall, the remaining stump was only as tall as me. With a mighty kick, I sent the stump flying into the air.

"SAIDAIKYU KIJIN RASHUU DAN!"

The biggest vacuum blade split the wood lengthwise, causing the stump to fall into near-perfect halves on either side of me. Breathing slowly, I closed my eyes and let out a long breath, calming my body and cooling my adrenaline. With deliberate motion, I opened my eyes and surveyed the destruction of the clearing.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would."

SMACK!

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" I shouted at Nanami, who had smacked me in the back of the head.

"You idiot! This is a park! You can't go around destroying trees like that!"

Oh yeah. Oops. "I think we should get to class," I said quickly, trying to change the subject and provide an excuse to leave the scene.

"Like you ever pay attention in school," she retorted angrily. "What did that tree ever do to you?"

"It made itself a great target for my techniques," I said simply. Unfortunately, I could tell by her expression that it wasn't the answer she was looking for. Fortunately, it really was time to get to class so I was spared a lecture.

"Grrr...this isn't over Ranma. We'll talk about your defilement of nature after class."

Making a mental note to ditch school as soon as possible, I merely nodded.

"And if you ditch school again I'm going to tell mom!" she threatened.

Ouch. Low blow Nanami. Resigning myself to my fate, I fell into line as we walked towards school.

* * *

"You know, I don't know how you ever managed to get into high school with your sleeping habits," said Nanami sourly as she and I walked home from school.

"Well why don't you try cutting a tree into sawdust and see how energetic you feel afterward," I teased lightly.

"You're lucky I'm such a good friend or I probably wouldn't let you look at my notes," she threatened.

I sighed but said what she wanted to hear anyways. "Thank you for being such a good friend Nanami."

"And don't you forget it either."

As if I could. We'd been having variations of this conversation for nigh on five years now. Honestly, I had never put much stock into school. Between my training, helping Nanami's mother, and the part time job I had taken later to supplement my income, school had taken a backseat.

It hadn't stopped Nanami and her mother from doing everything in their power to help me pass though. As such, through a combination of last minute cramming and constant pestering, I'd been consistently making average marks despite my less than stellar scholastic habits.

"I still don't understand why I have to learn algebra," I said sourly. "It has nothing to do with martial arts."

"Did you ever think there might be more to life than martial arts?" asked Nanami sarcastically.

"Of course I've thought about it. It's just that those things are boring."

"So what do you want to do when you grow up?" Her voice was genuinely curious now.

I shrugged noncommittally. "Don't know. Travel the world, perfect my art, go on a mystical magical journey of self-discovery that might get transcribed into an anime one day."

"You've never thought about settling down?" She seemed to be nervous as she said this, her voice much quieter as she spoke.

"Meh." I purposefully stayed vague. Truthfully, I suppose I wasn't completely opposed to settling down, but traveling just seemed more appealing to me after doing it for half my life. Besides, I was sixteen. What kind of question was that anyways?

I couldn't tell if she was satisfied with my answer or not as she didn't speak to me the rest of the way home. Sighing lightly I waved goodbye at the entrance to the apartment and headed for my part-time job, moving quickly along the rooftops now that I wasn't escorting Nanami. Within seconds, I was in front of Exelion.

Exelion was a small local diner, privately owned by a single woman who, quite frankly, looked like a princess. Despite her insistence that she was over thirty years old, her long golden hair coupled with her full chest and cute waitress outfit didn't seem to put her a day over twenty-one. Apparently, she was also great friends with Nanami's mother, which is how I landed this job, even though I was legally underage.

Calling out a quick greeting, I hastily made my way to the employee room where I changed at warp speed. Ten seconds later, I emerged from the room, fully dressed in my waiters outfit.

"Someday you'll have to show me how you do that," she said approvingly as she surveyed my uniform.

"Just practice miss," I assured her.

"Indeed. You are quite the quick change artist." She giggled at her own joke.

I didn't get it. Seeing my flat expression, she coughed lightly before handing me a few plates. "Okay, two Sizzler Silver Combinations for table four."

I nodded and expertly threaded my way through the tables and customers, placing the orders at the correct tables within seconds. It was currently dinner time and rather busy by most restaurant standards, but all that meant for me was a slightly tougher workout.

A few hours later, the dinner rush was over and I was finishing the last of the dishes. Stretching slightly, I glanced at the clock and found that I was an hour past my usual quitting time. Huh. Guess it was busier than I thought.

"Good job tonight Ranma," said the manager from behind the counter. "I think you even did some overtime tonight."

I brushed the compliment off. "It was nothing ma'am. I'm no stranger to hard work."

She thought for a minute, idly playing with her long curly hair. "Why don't you take a meal and head home then," she suggested. "I also saved some leftovers for your little friends." She passed me a to-go box and a meal bag, which I accepted, not bothering to correct her that cats were in no way shape or form my friends. Only adversaries to overcome.

Regardless, I accepted the food with a thank you. At the very least it would unburden Nanami's mother from having to feed me another night. Saying my goodbyes, I left the store and jumped to the rooftops.

* * *

For some unexplainable reason, the cardboard box sitting next to my apartment complex set off my danger sense into hyper mode. A careful examination of the package revealed nothing. No stamps, no labels, and no return address.

Hesitantly, I picked up the box, finding it surprisingly light. Looking on the underside still revealed nothing as to who the box was meant for, or where it came from. I was just about to put it down when a horrendous sound echoed through the still night.

"Meow...meow..."

I nearly dropped the box in shock, but I was fearful that the contents inside might be fragile. Slowly, I placed the box on the ground and began looking for the origin of the sound. A quick scan of the street revealed nothing.

"Meow...meow..."

It was fainter this time, but it was still unmistakably a cat's meow.

"Where are you you stupid feline," I said challengingly. Still seeing nothing, I turned back to the box. It was rattling now.

"Every single sense that I've developed in twelve years of martial arts training is telling me not to open that box," I said out loud. I stood still for another second before slowly approaching the package, trying to peak through the handle hole. Twelve years, and I still haven't learned any better.

Unfortunately, it was too dark to see. I could sense a small life force coming from within, and a warm familiar sent was wafting from the box.

"It sounds like a cat, smells like a cat, and feels like a cat." And yet, I was still tempted to open the damn thing. Why? I don't know, I was curious dammit!

"It's probably an abandoned cat," I rationalized. And that meant it was probably hungry too. Suddenly, the cat-food the manager had given me started to feel heavy in my hands. God damn nobility. With a sigh, I bit my lip and opened the box.

FLAAAAASH!

I cursed and dropped the bags, rubbing my eyes furiously as I tried to recover from the blinding light. What the hell was going on? I blinked a couple more times, my vision finally regaining focus, and looked inside the box.

"What the fu-"

You know, usually I have a very clean mouth. Even when I'm fighting I tend to stay away from profanity. Sometimes though, there was just no other substitute. Black hair, brown ears, brown tail and complete with a yellow ribbon and red collar with a bell, was an unmistakable catgirl. And she was completely naked.

For a minute, my mind tried to rationalize it as being some sort of hentai catgirl doll, but I could still feel the life energy coming from her. Questions started popping into my mind like fireworks. Oddly enough, the first one I asked myself is why, if she had a ribbon in her hair, did she not have any other clothes? And who the hell put a...humanoid being in a box in the first place?

"Meow..."

Instinctively, I jumped away from the box as the catgril gave out another mewl, turning over slightly but otherwise unaffected by my shouting. Eventually, my rationale caught up to my initial panic and I reassessed the situation, pointedly ignoring the fact that she was part cat.

She was a girl, and someone had abandoned her here. For a moment, I was at a loss as to what I should do. Briefly, I thought about calling the police, but quickly realized the nearest phone was in my room.

"I can't just leave her out here," I said softly. Closing the lid of the box, I quickly hauled it into my apartment, praying that no one had actually seen me. That would have been rather awkward to explain.

* * *

Her modesty now preserved by the blanket on my futon, I reassessed the situation in my head. Of course, no matter how much I thought about it, all my thinking brought me back to the same question. "Now what?"

She didn't have any sort of identification (or clothes for that matter), and was sleeping in a near comatose state. Experimentally, I had made some loud noises to try and get a reaction, but nothing had worked insofar.

I looked around the room once more before sighing. "Well, at least Nanami doesn't-"

BANG!

I flinched as Nanami threw open my previously locked door without warning. "Doesn't what?" she asked with a false sweetness. Quickly I threw the blanket over the cat-girl's head and hurried to meet Nanami in the hallway, trying to block her sight into the living room.

"Oh uh...hey Nanami. What are you doing here?" I tried to act as nonchalant as possible.

She held up the bag she was holding. "Mom wanted to give you some leftovers since you didn't show up for dinner tonight." She began trying to move towards my kitchenette but I blocked her way.

"Thanks sis, but I already got some food from the restaurant," I said quickly. A little too quickly it seems, as I saw Nanami's eyes narrow in suspicion.

"What are you hiding?" she asked evenly.

"Nothing!"

"Then you won't mind if I come in then," she stated. With a purposeful step, she tried to move around me, but I quickly matched her step, keeping my body in front of her line of sight.

"Uh...well actually that's not a good idea right now. I'm doing uh...guy stuff!" I invented.

Nanami gave me a flat stare. "Like hell you are. You don't have a sex drive."

I blinked. "What?"

"Just move!" STOMP!

"OW!"

Truthfully it didn't particularly hurt, but it was surprising enough for her to get around me. Briefly I entertained the idea of just running out the door and disappearing for a couple days while I waited for her to cool down, but she'd probably just corner me at my job or at school later. Silently, I began a countdown in my head.

"What the hell? RANMA!"

Sighing, I walked into the living room. "Would you believe me when I say this isn't what it looks like?"

Nanami gave me a deadpan stare as she re-covered the guest. "You have a naked girl with cat ears and a cat tail lying in your bed and there are several cat-girl posters put up around your room. How exactly am I supposed to interpret this?"

"Hey come on now!" I protested. "Weren't you just saying that I have no sex drive?"

"Well maybe you're better at hiding it than I thought," she said snidely. "Jeeze, you even convinced her to wear a cat collar!"

"I'm not like that!" I shouted. "I just found her on the street!"

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. "Oh so you just pick up girls off the street now?"

"No! And quit twisting my words around!"

"Then start speaking straight!"

"I am speaking straight! Your hearing is skewed!"

"Meow..."

Our shouting match cut off abruptly as the girl gave a quiet meow and began to stretch. Respectfully, I turned away, but not before noticing that the way she stretched with her hands out in front and arched back looked eerily similar to a cat waking up.

"Hey uh...Nanami? Can you get some clothes for her please?"

"What? You tore her clothes too? Why-"

"NANAMI!" I yelled in equal parts embarrassment and anger.

She seemed taken aback by my shout. "Right. Sorry. Be right back." In a flash she was gone, leaving me alone with the waking guest.

"Miyah..."

The sound was like a cross between a yawn and a meow. As if waking up from a light sleep rather than a coma like state, the cat-girl rubbed her face before focusing on the room she was in, her cute round eyes reflecting the light. I wanted to run. My brain was telling me that the...person in front of me was incredibly dangerous and closely related to my greatest enemies. However, my body refused to move.

God I felt awkward. What the hell was I supposed to say to her? Hi I found you on the street completely naked and placed in a cardboard box, please don't think of this in the wrong way.

"Where am I?" She was sitting up in my futon now, seemingly unconcerned that the blanket covering her modesty had fallen away. Her cat ears were fluttering like independent appendages, confirming that she was indeed, a cat-girl.

Inevitably, her eyes fell on me.

"Oh." Her face resolute, she jumped gracefully out of the futon to stand before me, in all her naked glory. "Nice to meet you. My name is Mikan. Meow!"

I flinched at the cat-call, but couldn't bring myself to turn away. Slowly, she began moving her face closer to mine until our noses were touching, and I was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. In the back of my mind, something told me that she had just introduced herself, and that I should try the same.

"N...n-nice to meet you M-Mikan," I stuttered badly. Whether it was from fear of her cat parts or embarrassment from her girl parts, I honestly couldn't tell anymore.

Fwoof!

My vision was suddenly obscured by a purple colored cloth. Removed from sight, I finally found my motor functions and desperately moved backwards, brandishing the clothes in front of me like a shield. "Er...Mikan why don't you put these on?"

"Why?" I couldn't see her face but I could almost feel her innocently curious look.

"It's socially proper," cut in Nanami's voice. "It's necessary to keep the boys in line." Hey, come on now.

"So, Mikan right?" The cat-girl nodded, taking the clothes from my grasp and holding them close to her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I-"

"He didn't kidnap you did he?" she asked worriedly.

"No I-"

"Have you two been going steady?"

"Er-"

"How long have you been seeing him huh?"

"We've only just-"

"He's blackmailing you isn't he? That's why your dressed as a cat-girl! I know his taste!"

"Actually-"

"Don't tell me he's-"

BONK!

Nanami suddenly cut off her rant as I lightly flicked her nose. I had regained my composure now that Mikan was covering herself. "Let's not smother our guest, okay sis?"

Nanami glared at me but kept quiet. "So Mikan," I started. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I came from the Cat Kingdom because the cat-god ordered me to serve my master! And that master is you Ranma-sama!" she explained excitedly.

Nanami arched an eyebrow. "Ranma-sama?" There was venom laced in her voice now.

"I've never seen her before in my life!" I protested vainly. "Honestly!"

Nanami ignored me and turned back to Mikan, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Mikan, it's okay. You can tell me. Did he give you anything funny to drink?"

"Will you stop that?" I shouted. "I'm not like that!"

Mikan brushed off Nanami's hand and approached me again, dropping her garments in the process. Energetically she began snuggling up to me, rubbing her nose and forehead against my chest, just like a real cat. Nanami merely stared at her, as if trying to come to grips with the situation.

"So...you're saying that you're from the 'cat-kingdom' and Ranma is your...master?"

"Yep!" she mewled happily.

"Ranma do you seriously believe what she's saying?" asked Nanami skeptically. With confidence, she reached towards Mikan's ears, probably expecting them to be a headband of some sort.

BRRR...FLAP-FLAP...

Only for Mikan's ears to flutter as Nanmi touched them. My sister backed off in surprise. "It can't be!" She quickly rubbed her eyes. "Th...they're real! They're real cat ears!"

As gently and carefully as I could, I pried Miakn's arms off of me and handed her the clothes she dropped. She seemed to pout at the loss of contact, but covered her womanly parts.

"So uh..." Nanami fished around for a topic of conversation. "How did you come here from the cat-kingdom then?" she asked finally.

Her ears drooped as she sat back down on the futon, her eyes downcast. "To tell you the truth, I was fired while I was working as a maid. I was desperately trying to find a job when the cat-god and his wife Bast appeared in front of me and told me to go serve my master."

I had been working on controlling my breathing up to that point, but that name suddenly triggered a memory that I'd hadn't recalled for nearly six years.

"_We can't give it to you right away though," said the cat-god. "You'll have to wait a few more years. Something to look forward to on your sixteenth birthday I suppose."_

"_Make sure to keep up your 'training' though," said Bast with a wink._

"_It'll help when the time comes," finished the cat-god._

My mind came back to reality with a snap. "Wait, so you're the 'divine gift' that I got from the cat-god?"

Mikan smiled and nodded enthusiastically, her tail twitching behind her. "I went to a church, had a ceremony, and...I was here when I woke up." As nimbly as a cat, she pounced on me, pressing her soft chest into mine, her cat-like sent floating into my nose. "I'll serve you very well, Ranma-sama!"

Then, she licked my neck.

"GAH!" I couldn't stop the yelp that escaped my lips. Mikan paused in her ministrations to stare at me worriedly.

"Ah! That's right, Bast told me to take it easy," she reminded herself. Slowly, so at not to panic me again, she reached her arms around my body and snuggled into me. Involuntary shivers went up my spine.

"Alright that's enough out of you." With her unnatural tomboyish strength, Nanami pulled the enthusiastic cat girl off of me by her collar. "Listen you, I don't know how much you know about Ranma, but he has a problem with cats, and you're not helping him by acting like that."

"Aww," pouted Mikan cutely. "But Master Ranma smells so nice!"

Breathing heavily, I finally managed to reassert control over my mind and body. "Uh, Mikan? I'm really grateful that you're willing to be my maid and all but..." I trailed off as I saw her face begin to fall. Before I could even find the words, Mikan had begun to sniffle. Guilt was already welling up inside me and I hadn't even finished my sentence yet.

"...but I don't know how comfortable you'll be sleeping on the floor in here," I invented quickly. "I only really have room for one person."

Like a flash the sad expression disappeared, replaced by an innocently smiling cat-girl. Under her breath, I could hear Nanami saying, "Oh, you're good." For some reason, I felt like I'd just been had.

"I don't mind a bit," she assured me quickly. Shaking free of Nanami's grip she slinked towards me again. "I'll serve you, but you'll have to reward me."

"Er...reward you? How?" I stared into her eyes, pointedly not looking at her ears or tail.

She seemed to think about it for a minute. "Well, Bast said to take it slow, so how about this?" Gently, almost featherlight, she put her lips to mine before I could react. My mind practically split in two at the contact. It was a cat, yes, but it felt...good. Before I could register an emotion, Mikan deepened the kiss, quickly invading my mouth, entangling her pointed tongue with mine. I hardly even noticed when her arms encircled me and her naked breasts began to press against my chest. A strange, unfamiliar sensation was starting to pool in my gut.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she released my mouth, licking her lips enticingly. "Mmmm, Master tastes good."

WHAM!

Reality came crashing down on me in the form of Nanami's fist to my head. "Would you mind not doing that right in front of me?" she asked angrily.

"What are you hitting me for?" I protested. "She's the one who kissed me!"

"You're taking advantage of her!"

"I told you I'm not like that!"

"Um...excuse me?"

"What?" asked Nanami in a shouting voice, causing Miakn to take a step back.

"Did Mikan do something wrong?" I swear, she has a cute innocent-like face to die for. Talking in the third person was almost too much. Even Nanami's tomboyish rage was melting away under Mikan's apologetic gaze.

"Er...well..." Finding nothing to say, she whirled on me. "If she's staying with you, you're paying extra on your rent!"

I sighed but didn't say anything. It was only fair after all.

"And you had better keep your clothes on at all times unless you're bathing or sleeping," said Nanami to Mikan. "And don't move until you're dressed!" Mikan gave a small 'eep' before complying with Nanami's orders. Probably some sort of primal self-preservation instinct at work.

Nanami shot one last glare my way before throwing open my apartment door with a bang, and stomping out. Mikan and I were silent. Seconds later a cool breeze blew through my open door, clearing the glazed look from the cat-girl's face.

"Ah, I apologize if I came across too strong." I noticed that her tone had changed from cute and seductive to demure and innocent. I questioned the sudden shift.

"Are you okay Mikan?"

"I'm sorry, the heat was getting to me. Master smelled really good," she purred quietly.

"Ah...thanks I guess..." I trailed off awkwardly. "So where would you like to sleep then?"

Innocently, she glanced towards my futon.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said quickly. "I'll sleep on the floor, I'm used to it."

"But Master-"

BANG!

I winced at the sound of the door being thrown against the wall again. "It was already open," I grumbled quietly.

"Here." Just in time, I turned around and caught a rolled up a futon and pillow.

"Thank you," I said sincerely.

Nanami rolled her eyes. "Just try and get some sleep tonight, pervert."

"I told you I'm not like that," I said weakly to her retreating back.

SLAM!

I winced again at the slammed door. She was angry. God knows why, not like I asked for this cat-girl to come live with me, it was that stupid cat-god's fault, or his wife's fault. Whatever. Point is, not my fault. I mean really, what was I supposed to do, leave her on the street?

"Master Ranma, is everything okay?" Mikan had noticed me losing myself in thought. I turned to look at her, now fully dressed.

My first thought was where on earth did Nanami get these clothes? Mikan was wearing a purple long sleeved dress, lined with white frills. If Mikan added an apron, it would easily pass as a maid's outfit. A small, innocent, cat-girl maid. Just how many fetishes was that rolled into one?

"Do you like it?" she asked suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"It's perfect for you," I said without realizing it.

Her smile seemed to light up the room. For a moment, I almost forgot she was part cat.

* * *

"Hey...hey, Ranma. Did meyou receive my gift okay?" An old yet familiar voice interrupted my sleep. A voice I'd hadn't heard for six years.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to see the white grinning face of the cat god, leaning over me eerily.

CAT!

Registering a threat, I shot up without warning, hitting the cat-god on the nose.

"Neeeooooowwww! That's the second time meyuve done that," he complained, rubbing his nose.

"What's wrong with you?" I'd noticed that the cat-god had come to my place of residence this time, so I kept my voice to a harsh whisper. "Do you want someone to see you?"

The white cat shook his head. "I only let people who I want to see see me. But seriously, did meyou get my gift alright?"

I scratched my head. "What gift, you mean Mikan? That's the gift your wife said she was going to give me for my sixteenth birthday?"

"Yep!" he said happily.

"Yeah, she came shoved in a box with very little air, no food, no water, laying where anyone with half a mind could have randomly picked her up. What the hell is wrong with you?" I shouted softly.

"Hey, I know the system isn't perfect, but meyou did get her right?" he asked sheepishly. "I'd like to see you try and transport someone between two different worlds."

I groaned, frustrated with his logic. "Why do you even need to ask me anyways, aren't you a god?"

The cat actually looked affronted at my question. "How rude! Of course I'm a god!"

I wonder sometimes. Maybe Mikan was smart to get out of his domain when she could.

"So did you get it?" he asked again.

I decided to humor him for the moment. "Yeah, she's sleeping in the living room right now."

The cat god looked relieved at the news. Reaching under his collar, he pulled out a receipt.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course. The gods have lots of paperwork to process. My secretary and accountant will get furious otherwise. Sign here please." He pushed the paper into my hands, along with a pen which he pulled from...never mind I don't want to know.

"Now hold on a second, I didn't exactly agree to this," I began cautiously. "I don't really think-"

My senses alerted me to the presence of another person right before Bast poofed into existence beside her husband. She was looking at me with something akin to worry on her face. "She can't go back Ranma," she said gently. "For her, this was a one way trip. Even if she could, she doesn't have anything to go back to."

I flinched as if I'd been struck. What Bast had said had hit a little too close to home for my liking. "She came here of her own free will?" I asked hesitantly.

"She was chosen to be your companion, maybe more if you let her," said Bast with a wink, causing my face to go red. "I've been in this business for a long time, I know how to pick em."

Sighing, I took the paper from the cat-god's paws. In the end, there really was no choice. I signed my name, Ranma Aoba. Officially, I'd never actually dropped my original last name, but for the sake of getting me into school and getting me a job, I had been moved to Nanami's family register a while back. Another favor added to the long list of things the Aobas had done for me.

"Umeow. Good. We had a little hitch, but we wrapped it up okay in the end," said the cat-god quickly, snatching the receipt from my hands.

My mind suddenly caught up with what he said. "A hitch?"

The white cat glanced around nervously. "Well uh...don't worry about the details. Everything has been taken care of."

Moving quickly, I grabbed the cat-god by the collar, bringing him right next to my face. "Something tells me that I shouldn't believe you," I said, teeth clenched.

"Umeow! I'm just a cat god! I don't know anything!" he pleaded.

"What the- that doesn't make any sense! What kind of a god are you?" I shook him a little, causing his oversized head to wobble around like a bobble-head.

Before I could threaten more physical violence though, I felt a soft hand touch my shoulder. "Now now Ranma," chided Bast gently. "It really is just a small problem and it's kind of my fault to begin with. We'll have it taken care of soon, okay?"

I grumbled, but dropped the cat-god anyways. "You're lucky your wife is so nice."

I stood up with the intention of moving towards the kitchen for some form of drink, but was stopped by Bast's hand still on my shoulder. "Ranma, look at me for a second," she requested softly.

Hesitating slightly, I turned around, making sure to keep my gaze focused on her feline-like face, rather than her skimpily dressed body. Slowly, I could feel myself turning just a little bit red, Mikan's kiss last night still fresh in my mind.

"My my, he's made great progress already," said Bast approvingly, releasing my shoulder. Turning to the cat-god, she gave him a small smile. "See? I told you this idea would work."

The cat-god rolled his eyes. "Yes yes, now lets go before the other humans start waking up, shall we?" Jumping onto his wife's shoulder, the cat-god flared his energy, causing a blue portal to appear behind him. Before stepping through, the cat sent me a parting grin that sent shivers up my spine. "Good luck kid. You'll need it." And then they were gone, some white and gold cat hairs on the ground the only evidence they'd ever been there.

"I guess even a god has to shed," I thought humorously. Wearily, I flopped back down onto my futon, staring at the ceiling, remembering the cat-god's parting words. "Ugh, I hate foreshadowing."

* * *

A/N: There you go. Chapter two. Hoped you enjoyed it. Things are really going to start picking up in the next few chapters now that the set pieces are in place.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: WARNING! This story is rated M for a reason. Several reasons actually, and that's all I'm going to say about that. It is not, however, against the rules of fanfiction dot net. Borderline though, definitely.

* * *

There were many creatures that one did not want to tangle with in the Golmore Jungle. Elder Baloths were at the top of the list. Their diets consisted ofplants, small woodland animals, large woodland animals, woodlands, fruit groves, fruit farmers, and small cities. Usually three full hunting parties and a half were required to bring one down.

A close second to these absolute menaces though, were the Great Malboros, creatures that infected the very land they moved upon with a distinctly recognizable taint. Their breath was definitely the worst aspect though, causing a myriad of illnesses from amnesia, poison, and rage, to nausea, confusion, and blindness. Even an Elder Baloth would be paralyzed for at least a day after consuming one.

Worse still, the damn things were quiet and sneaky as hell, despite their large size. Even the most experienced hunters were in constant peril of being taken unaware by the creatures. Without companions and a full stock of medicine, a Malboro was a death sentence for almost any lone hunter caught unaware.

It was fortunate for Mineth the the latter was not quite the case. It was due to luck, mostly, as a completely different creature had accidentally given away the Malboro's position. She'd been able to jump away in the nick of time, with the creature's foul breath only enveloping her leg, but it was enough to numb it and forestall any escape attempts.

Drawing the spear from her back, Mineth quickly dodged a follow up burst of acid that immediately began melting the forest path. Not letting up for a second, the creature sent its tentacles towards her in whip like fashion, forcing her to parry as best she could with her spear. One got through her guard and managed to knock her off balance, but a lucky slash severed the limbs, causing the monster to recoil in surprise.

With a gurgling roar, the creature charged at her, spewing its breath as it came, flora withering and dying in its wake. Mineth backpedaled as quickly as she could, but it would only buy her a few seconds at most. Shifting the grip on her spear, Mineth let it fly straight into the creature's open mouth. The perfect shot stopped the monster's charge dead cold, even as the wooden handle of the missile began rotting away.

The woman didn't waste a second and took off at full tilt down the forest path, pointedly ignoring the jolts of pain her leg gave off every time she took a step. Her only hope was to meet up with one of the patrolling hunter parties. A loud crunch indicated that the Malboro had gotten over its shock (as well as the oversized toothpick) and had now resumed its pursuit.

Gathering mana to her hand, Mineth unleashed the strongest fire spell she could, not even checking to see if it hit. If she was lucky, it would blind the creature for a bit. Then again, if she was really lucky she wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place.

There! Up ahead was a break in the canopy. The Malboro was gaining on her again, she could feel his breath on the edge of her senses. Prepping another fire spell, Mineth shot it towards the thin foliage, attempting to weaken it as much as she could. Putting pressure on her numb leg, Mineth let out a yell of pain before diving through off the trail and through the canopy. If she was lucky, she'd only suffer some broken bones. If not...well hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Closing her eyes, Mineth braced herself for pain.

* * *

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

Why was my alarm going off? Today was Sunday. Without opening my eyes, I unerringly smashed the off button, along with the alarm clock itself.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Without missing a beat, my hand grasped the remains of the first alarm clock and made a wild throw.

BEE-SMASH!

The second alarm quickly fell silent. Breathing softly I rolled back over in my bed, intent on sleeping the day away. Nanami had once asked me why I slept for so long when given the opportunity, considering how often and early I practiced martial arts. Short answer? Because I could. Long answer? Because I wanted to. Either way, nothing was getting me out of bed on my day...sniff...sniff...what was that?

Sleep began fading from my body as I sniffed the air once again. Steamed rice and grilled fish if I smelled correctly. Was Nanami cooking? Wearily I opened my eyes to stare at the cat-girl posters attached to my ceiling. Sighing, I rose from my bed. My love of food was one of the few things that could trump my love of sleep.

Shaking out my limbs I began a slow kata while listening to the noises coming from the kitchen.

"Now, use it like this."

"I see. How's the taste?"

The second voice stopped me in mid motion. A second later the memories from last night came flooding back, along with my early morning dream. And his warning. Finishing the kata, I pulled on my shirt and walked into the living room.

Mikan immediately rushed me as soon as I opened my door.

"Good morning master!" she greeted cheerfully, giving me a small bow.

My eyes immediately darted to her cat ears, but I was able to force back the initial surge of panic. "Good morning Mikan," I said carefully, giving her a once over. In addition to the clothes Nanami had given her, Mikan had donned an apron, completing the maid ensemble. Noticing my gaze, the cat girl gave a shy smile.

"Do you like it?" she asked demurely, twirling around once. The skirt flipped up, giving me a nice view of her tails, thighs, and perfectly round shaped-

I quickly averted my eyes as I realized what I was seeing. "Um, Mikan, you're not wearing any, uh...panties." I forced the word out.

"I don't really care for underwear, this skirt works just fine," she said happily.

Mikan gave a surprised yelp as Nanami suddenly appeared behind her, grabbing the cat-girl in a headlock. "Oh no you don't. Your little shy act may work on him, but not me. Soon as we're done eating, we're going shopping, you got that?" she asked the struggling cat-girl.

"Miyah!" she protested cutely, trying to break Nanmi's hold.

Ignoring the drama unfolding in front of me, I decided to sit down at the table and concentrate on eating. Priorities after all. Grabbing my chopsticks I expertly dished myself up and began eating at my usual superhuman level of speed. Despite all of the times Nanami's mother had tried to train me otherwise, Saotome speed eating was a habit that had been ingrained into me since birth. One thing they did manage though was to give me some form of class, so even though I was eating super fast, it was...almost neat.

"Wow, that was great," I said honestly as I polished off the last of the meal.

Mikan finally slipped from Nanami's hold. "You're finished already?" She looked in wonder at my empty plate.

Nanami rolled her eyes. "Saotome speed eating strikes again. Only God knows if he actually tastes the food."

"Don't listen to her Mikan, your food tasted fine." The cat-girl beamed under the praise. As Nanami and Mikan dished themselves up, my mind wandered back to the cat-god's warning again. Stupid god, why couldn't he be more specific?

"Hey Mikan, did anything strange happen during the ritual to send you here?" I asked finally.

One of Mikan's ears flicked back. "Strange?"

"Yeah you know, like temporal anomalies, trans-dimensional breaches, rips in the fabric of the space-time continuum?"

Mikan blinked as she processed my question. "Ummm..."

"Did the cat-god swear at all?"

Mikan's eyes brightened. "Oh! He said something about 'god damn temporal mechanics' and how quantum physics weren't in his job description. And something about a 'pain in the ass.' But then his wife told him some things about liability and he seemed to calm down."

Groaning, I let my head fall to the table. Well that cinched it. The cat-god was officially on my hit list. I know nothing bad had happened yet, and maybe I was looking too far into this, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was going to blow up in my face.

"Did I do something wrong?" Mikan asked sadly. "I'll do better I promise! Please don't make me leave."

Her eyes looked to be on the verge of tears which immediately triggered my 'manly' reflex. "No no! It's not your fault. You're doing great! You can stay here as long as you want!" I assured her quickly.

The quivering gaze disappeared almost immediately. "Thank you master!" Her eyes were positively sparkling by this point.

Nanami shot the cat-girl a half-lidded stare. "I honestly can't tell if she's doing that on purpose or not."

"Doing what?" asked Mikan innocently.

"Oh can it. I don't care if she stays here but YOU," I flinched backwards as she suddenly pointed her finger at my nose. "had better stay in your own room, you got that?"

"Yes ma'am." Grabbing my cup of tea, I took a long drink.

"So Mikan, are you a cat that's part girl, or a girl that's part cat?"

"Mikan is a girl before she's a cat. See?" Without any warning whatsoever, Mikan flipped up her skirt.

Pssssssshhhhht!

That was the sound of me spitting a mouthful of tea across the table.

"Definitely need to get you some panties," deadpanned Nanami as she began wiping up the tea with a rag.

* * *

There are very few things that I outright hate in this world. Near the top would probably be letting good food go to waste, but a close second to that would definitely have to be shopping. Every couple of months or so, Nanami would take it upon herself to shoot some doe eyes my direction and force me on a trip with the sole purpose of destroying every thread of dignity I had. Of course, after today's incident, it's hard to say if I'd ever be able to salvage those threads again. Let me give you a piece of advice. When confronted with a lingerie store, the kryptonite of man, there is no safe place within ten meters. Actually, waiting outside the store might be even more embarrassing then just going inside. The latter might make you a pervert, but the former subjects you to all the knowing looks and smug grins of the people passing by. I was going to have to think up a suitable revenge for this later, especially since I had to endure this torture for thirty minutes.

"Master Ranma!"

"Ranma," I corrected automatically.

"Master Ranma, I got some panties, see?" Without any warning, she flipped up her skirt before I could look away, giving me a brief look at a pair of lacy sky-blue undergarments.

WHAP! "Rowr!"

"Mikan, what did I say about doing that?" asked Nanami curtly, preparing her hand for another strike.

"Only by myself in the privacy of my home and out of view of Master Ranma," repeated Mikan dutifully, rubbing her head. "But it's a maid's duty to seek the approval of their master concerning clothes."

"_Ranma_ is not going to be seeing those types of clothes, remember?" For an instant I could have sworn that Nanami's battle aura had popped into existence.

"I remember."

"Good. Now let's go shopping for some other clothes as well."

"I don't need anything more than my maid outfit," protested the cat-girl once again.

Nanami rubbed her head. "Ugh. Ranma?"

I picked up on the silent message. "Uh, Mikan? It would really make me happy if you had some spare clothes around."

"Okay Master Ranma!" Grabbing my hand, Mikan forcefully pulled me towards the next store in the line. A cosplay shop. Ho boy.

* * *

"This is the supermarket I shop at," I explained as we continued walking through the shopping district. "Not the best selection, but it's cheap." Unlike all the other things we purchased today. I mean, my god, the lingerie alone must have cost at least five times the amount of any one of my normal outfits, never mind the clothes (or rather costumes) she'd acquired.

"Do you remember how you got here?" quizzed Nanami.

Mikan thought for a minute before pointing out the various buildings. "That's the restaurant you work at, that's an office supply store, and our house is over that way."

Good, now she won't get lost. One more worry off my back. Speaking of work though... "I've got to get going Nanami. You think you'll be able to lift all these by yourself?"

Nanami smacked me lightly on the head. "We didn't get that much you big baby. We'll be fine."

Patting Mikan briefly on the head, much to her delight, I handed the bags off to Nanami and dodged into the store.

* * *

Excelion is always busy. We're I not the person I was, it might have been too much for just two people. To me, it was just a challenge.

"Tables three, five, and seven have been served, table two is waiting for their order," I fired off while swiftly serving the dishes on the five trays I was carrying. Part of the popularity came from me, I guess. People were curious about the one man who could keep a whole restaurant satisfied by himself, although it probably didn't hurt that the food was good and owner was gorgeous.

"Sure is busy here," said the owner quietly.

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Even so, you're here almost every day." She had a cute pout on her face now. "If you find anyone else who needs a job, you should tell me so I can give you a break once in a while."

Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have some time off every now and again, and she could probably use some help cooking as well. I could always use more training I suppose. Giving her a nod of reassurance, I grabbed the ready orders and fell into my 'zen' of working. Hours later, the sun had gone down and peace had finally arrived. Only a couple customers remained, enjoying some coffee after their meal.

"Coffee?" I offered the boss.

"Thanks. Get one yourself too."

Leaning on the counter, I distractedly listened to the customer's conversation.

"Hey, did you hear about that explosion that happened downtown?"

"Of course, who hasn't! The damn thing is all over the news."

"Was anyone hurt?" asked a third customer, joining in.

"That's the crazy thing, it's like nothing was even damaged at all!"

"Then it wasn't an explosion?"

"No no! It was, I swear! Saw the damn thing myself! It was like a big ball of fire, and then...nothing."

I'm not usually a person who jumps to conclusions, but all the warning signs were pointing in the. direction of my beneficial deity having his hand in this. Intentionally or not was irrelevant.

"Where did you say this happened?" I asked casually, joining their conversation.

"Just downtown," said the first man excitedly, eager to retell the story.

Sighing, I polished off my cup and threw the rag I was carrying in the laundry basket. "Hey boss, do you have things here? There's something I need to go check out."

"Okay, don't forget the meal for your little fellows," she said cheerfully, handing me a big bag.

* * *

Noises deafened her. Smells washed over her. Unfamiliar colors assaulted her vision, and yet pain was mysteriously absent. Odd.

Getting up from her prone position, Mineth gasped as fire shot through her leg. Apparently not all the pain was gone. Her body felt weaker than normal too. Something else was missing though...the Malboro!

Struggling to her feet, Mineth glanced around wildly for her foe, but saw nothing. The only question that remained was where was she? The place looked similar to the human cities described to her by her sisters in the forest, but still...

Shaking her head to clear it, Mineth looked around and spied a metal rod. Grasping it tightly, she finally steadied herself, using the pole as a crutch. Wherever she was, she needed to find shelter. Night seemed to be falling quickly and there was no way of knowing just how cold this place could get, nor was there any way to tell just how strong the Malboro venom was. Depending on its age, the venom could last a couple hours or a couple days.

Gripping the pole tightly, Mineth slowly began hobbling her way down the narrow street.

CRACK! CRASH!

With a yelp, Mineth awkwardly leaped out of the way in time as the wall next to her burst outward, revealing the foe she had previously tried her best to escape from. Cursing to herself, Mineth desperately tried to regain her footing, but her limbs were fatigued and not agreeing with her. Breath spewed forth. There was no time to dodge. She took in a mouthful that sent her to her knees. Dimly, she noticed the creatures limbs reaching out towards her. Mineth didn't close her eyes, rather she fought to keep them open.

It had been a good run, and she would stare death in the face.

"KIJIN RASHUU DAN!"

* * *

I only had to stare at the scene for two seconds to realize that this was all the cat-god's fault. Granted, I had never really paid that much attention in school, but even I knew that multi-eyed, sharp teethed tentacle monsters weren't exactly native to Japan.

Nor was the... person it was attacking either. The bunny ears were a dead giveaway.

Bounding over the rooftops as quickly as I could, I shouted out my attack, hoping to draw its attention.

"KIJIN RASHUU DAN!"

The appendages reaching for the woman were instantly cut, sending the monster reeling back. Without giving the thing time to recover, I scooped up the coughing and sputtering girl and leaped towards the rooftops.

"Are you okay?" I asked quickly, not taking my eyes off of the thing. I didn't get a response. Wasn't expecting one really. She looked to be in rather bad shape. The monster had recovered now and had locked onto my position. Moving much faster than it appeared capable of, the thing scurried towards me, scaling the building wall effortlessly.

Thinking quickly, I jumped over to an adjacent roof, gently placing the bunny-girl out of sight.

"Wait!" I paused in mid jump as she tried speaking through her coughing fit. "Malboro...careful of...breath."

Giving her a reassuring nod, I leaped back over to the other building just in time to see the Malboro crest over the side. Not giving the creature time to orient itself, I aimed a kick at one of the creatures eyes before rebounding off the creature's head. Falling back to mid-range I unleashed double vacuum blades, but this time the thing was ready.

Inhaling deeply, the creature let lose one of the most foul things I'd ever smelled. My attack died on the wind as the gas seemed to still the air while the concrete beneath me was starting to crumble into dust. Even without the girl's warning, there was no way I'd have gotten anywhere near that toxic cloud. Even my senses were revolting at the wrongness of its breath.

And yet the damn thing was charging at me, right through its own cloud of toxic waste. That probably meant the thing was tough as hell. The vacuum blades were almost useless against the damn thing since the air seemed to die around its breath. Thinking quickly, and praying that the janitor had went home for the day, I threw a blade into the already crumbling roof.

Although I was expecting it, it was still a bit disorienting to see just how quickly the roof had deteriorated to allow the collapse. I was prepared however, and launched myself towards the monster as we fell. Before the Malboro hit the ground, I was there.

"DOKUJA TANKETSU SHO!"

I'd hdan't actually used the technique on a living being before, but the explosion of fluids from the creature's mouth told me I'd done it right. Capitalizing on its stunned state, I followed up with a vacuum blade to one of its eyes, severing it completely.

Anticipating its breath technique, I punched through the floor, dropping down to the next level, even as its breath consumed the office area above me. If the same pattern followed...

CRASH!

Quickly, I jumped out of the way as the ceiling above fell through, bringing the Malboro with it. Again, I was ready. Calculating its point of impact, I pushed myself off the ground and kicked the the things underside. It was heavier than I expected, my blow barely being able to keep the thing airborne, but it was enough as I immediately jumped to its elevation and pounded its head, sending it through another floor.

Pausing for a bit to give it a head start, I jumped after it, bringing as much ki into my right hand as I could. The thing hit the ground on the bottom floor, dazing it just long enough for my finishing blow.

"DOKUJA TANKETSU SHO!"

I aimed at the area below its mouth, hoping I was hitting a throat area. My gamble was rewarded as the thing gave out a loud ear-splitting screech before stilling altogether, a trace of acid leaking from its still open mouth. This wasn't something I was willing to take a chance on though, so I immediately leaped away and and used my other finisher.

"SAIDAIKYU KIJIN RAISHU DAN!"

Several vacuum blades combined into one, aimed at the open mouth of the monstrosity. The air pressure was great enough to not only split the Malboro in half, but also gouge the wall behind it. Acid spilled from the things corpse, burning straight through the stone and into the foundation. Hopefully the place was insured.

Panting heavily, I backed up against the wall behind me and slowly slid down. While I had used the Yamasenken schools against it, the techniques left me feeling weaker than normal. Almost as if the things very presence was hampering me.

Speaking of...

My ears alerted me to a small rumble in the ground. Two possibilities sprung to mind. Either an earthquake was occurring right at that very moment, or...

Forcing my tired body into action, I ran and dived through the window, just as the Malboro exploded into a cloud of toxins and gas.

Aside from my vision being slightly blurry, my body being very fatigued, and my mind fuzzy, I was actually in pretty good shape. The same could not be said for the building though. After the Malboro's last burst, the foundation had crumbled, leaving the building little more than a pile of concrete and office supplies.

Trying not to strain my muscles too much, I carefully made my way up the fire escape to where I had hid the girl. If she was the result of the cat god's meddling then she probably was a lot like Mikan, having no place to stay and no idea where she was.

Grunting lightly, I reached the top of the roof and got my first look at the girl I'd rescued. And then, I quickly had to fight down a blush.

Simply put, she was beautiful. Light bronze skin, long silver hair, a well endowed bosom, and a pair of soft white bunny ears that painted her as an exotic beauty, with little in the way of modesty. Her clothing was an interesting cross between silver and pink, covering the important bits, but leaving several areas of skin exposed, such as her entire belly and long portions of her legs. Even with my hazy vision, I could tell that the woman had a timeless quality about her.

Shaking myself out of the daze, I slowly knelt next to her.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The woman coughed harshly before fixing her red eyes on me. "The Malboro?" she asked.

"Dead."

"Where -cough- am I?"

"In a place called Japan. Do you remember how you got here?" I asked gently.

"Fighting Malboro," she said unsteadily. "Falling...and then...was here."

"What's your name, where do you come from?" I asked, pressing the back of my hand to her forehead. She was burning up.

"Mineth...Golmore Jungle."

"Can you stand?" I asked gently. "We need to get you off this building."

She tried, but stumbled almost immediately. Bending down, I offered my back. "Climb on," I ordered. The bunny girl hesitated for only a second before complying.

* * *

Inhaling any amount of Malboro toxin was equivalent to playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun of random bullets. Some would kill, some would be non-lethal, while others could have long lasting effects.

This however, only dimly registered in the back of Mineth's mind as her body began to heat up and her breaths started to get deeper. She was becoming increasingly aware of her breasts rubbing against her rescuer's back and his hands gently gripping her thighs.

"Just hang on a little longer," came his voice, carried on the wind. Mineth tried to respond but it only came out as a soft breath over his ear, causing her carrier to shudder. Wrapping her arms tightly around her neck, Mineth rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, trying to fight down the urges brought on by the Malboro's toxins.

* * *

Mineth was not making this easy. Whether intentional or not, everything she was doing was driving my mind into a frenzy. She was constantly shifting her position, rubbing her generous body against mine every time I jumped. Her breaths were coming out in short sensual gasps, every one flowing gently across my ears.

-SMACK-

That was me giving myself a mental slap. Mineth had just taken a mouthful of that damn toxin, she could be close to death for all I knew. Now _really_ wasn't the time to be thinking about things like that. Actually, why was I thinking about this in the first place? All I knew about this girl was her name and that she had been on the wrong end of the Cat God's spell.

My apartment was ahead so I put on an extra burst of speed and dashed into my room. It struck me as odd that neither Nanami or Mikan were in the complex, but I wasn't about to question my good fortune. It had been bad enough when I'd brought Mikan home. Shaking off the odd feeling of dejavu, I placed Mineth on my bed and grabbed my personal first aid kit.

Nanami had once seen my emergency kit and called me paranoid. I preferred to think of it as being efficient. The wilds held many dangers, from large animals, to small poisonous insects. When you're miles away from any form of civilization, any form of sickness could mean a death sentence. Even when we'd been out of food, my father always had a fully stocked medical kit.

It was fortunate now that the habit had stayed with me. The Malboro's toxins were alien to me, but I'd never been a specialist on toxins to begin with. Hoping that the bunny-girl's immune system was similar to a humans, I grabbed a couple shots of standard anti-venom and administered a shot to myself, sighing in relief as my vision started to clear and feeling began coming back to my limbs.

Staggering back over to my bed, I gave the shot to Mineth, letting out another sigh as her breathing normalized and her body relaxed. The fever was still present though, so I packed up the kit and went to the kitchen to grab a wet cloth. When I returned, her eyes were open.

"How are you feeling?"

"Hot," she whispered softly. Giving a low moan, Mineth rubbed the sweat off her brow, slowly moving to a sitting position.

"Hey, take it easy. You've got a really bad fever."

Moving close to her, I placed a hand on her shoulder, intent on guiding her back down into a laying position. The minute my skin made contact with hers though, something snapped. Her body seemed to freeze up for a single moment before her hand darted out and grasped my own.

"Mineth?" I asked uncertainly.

Her eyes locked with mine. Gently, I tried to pull my hand back, but her grip was like steel.

"So...hot."

Before I knew what was happening, the bunny-girl's other arm had snaked around my waist. With a surprising amount of strength and speed, I was lifted off my feet and thrown onto the bed. Her legs whipped around, straddling my waist, pressing our most private areas together. I tried briefly to struggle back up, but Mineth simply held me tighter, grinding her hips into mine as she lowered herself to my face, pressing her soft, barely concealed assets against my chest.

"Hot..." she said, almost trance-like. She was inches away now, every breath she took fluttering across my face.

"Mineth, wai-"

She didn't wait. Taking advantage of my opening, the bunny-girl smashed her soft lips against my own, her tongue pushing its way into my mouth. My lack of participation didn't seem to faze her either, as she continued to swirl her tongue around my mouth, as if marking her territory.

It must have been seconds but it seemed like minutes before she finally broke away, trailing a thin line of saliva as she did. Panting almost as heavily as she was, I once again tried breaking free, but whether it was from my weakness or her strength, her grip held. Slowly, as if not even noticing my struggles, she slid her hips against mine again, causing me to blush as she made me painfully aware of my own warmth.

She was smiling now, slowly trailing a hand down my shirt, heading towards my pants. Wide eyed and ready to die of embarrassment, I resumed my struggles, bucking my hips to try and gain some leverage against her.

My efforts only made her smile more.

With a quick jerk, my pants and boxers fell away in tatters, exposing me to the world. Mineth's gaze seemed positively predatory now as she eyed my body up and down. Leaning forward once again, the bunny-girl began rubbing her damp almost-undergarments against my bare skin, sending all sorts of unfamiliar yet not completely unpleasant sensations throughout my body.

Her hands were moving again, worming their way underneath my shirt, her long nails leaving small red marks against my skin. With a quick swipe, the fabric split, exposing my bare chest. Just as quickly, the bunny-girl's hands went to her chest covering, undoing it in seconds and letting it fall away, exposing her perfectly shaped bronze colored-

I quickly averted my head and closed my eyes before my embarrassment reached a singularity, but Mineth would have none of that. Leaning down, she forced me into another kiss, her whole body rubbing sensually against mine.

She was speeding up now, gyrating her hips faster and faster. An unfamiliar feeling was starting to pool in my gut that I couldn't identify. Mineth must have been experiencing something similar, as her short sharp breaths were matching my own.

Faster now. Something was about to give. Her kiss deepened. My vision began to blur again. Faster still.

And then, she gave one particularly hard thrust, arching her back as she let out a deep throaty moan that made my body explode. I wasn't sure what was happening. I wasn't really sure that I cared. I felt...released, as if someone had just let lose a dam.

"Feels...better," said Mineth softly, a look of relief on her face, before promptly collapsing on top of me. I must have laid there for five minutes, gently holding the almost nude bunny-girl in my arms, trying to discern just what the hell had happened, but my mind kept coming up blank.

Finally my self-preservation sense kicked me in the brain and told me to get out of the room before anyone saw me. It was bad enough the first time Nanami walked in and saw me with a naked girl in my room, and this scene was eternally more damning than that.

Fortunately, my earlier weakness was wearing off somewhat. Moving carefully, I began maneuvering out from under the bunny-girl, doing my utmost to ignore her sighs as I inevitably brushed against some of her more sensitive areas. After a single tense minute, I had succeeded in getting out from under her.

Unfortunately, the bunny-girl's own strength had in no way abated. The minute I tried to pull away, her arms tightened around me, pulling me back down into her...uh...ah...

"I'm home!"

That was Mikan's voice.

God, or rather the Cat God, officially hated me, or he was taking some sort of almighty vengeance out upon me. Vindictive little monster. At least it was only Mikan. She'd be a lot more reasonable than-

"Hey Ranma, you back yet?"

Okay, time to panic. Even I could tell how bad this scene looked. Okay, think. The Malboro had pretty much sapped my strength, making Mineth noticeably stronger than me. So what did I normally do when trying to against stronger opponents?

The answer was painfully obvious. Had I not been uh...distracted, I probably would have though of it sooner. Moving slowly, I placed my fingers on the joints between her shoulders, and pressed. For a second, an evil whisper in my mind warned me that bunny-girl physiology might be different from humans, but eventually her grip slackened and her arms fell away.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I quickly extracted myself from the bed. Now all I had to do was change my clothes, cover my...guest, and get Nanami out of my apartment. Piece of cake right?

"Guess he's not home yet."

"May as well get dinner started. He can't be too much longer."

Okay, so I'd have to get out my window and come in the front. Still, piece of cake, as long as no one decided to look-

"Oh, I must have left my apron in Master Ranma's room."

God dammit, the cake was a lie, and not even my speed could stop Miakn from opening that door. The cat-girl probably had about half a second to be surprised before I'd materialized in front of her, pulled her into the room, and closed the door, covering her "eek" of surprise with my hand.

"Mikan," I began softly, trying to ignore her squirming, "I know this looks bad, but it's really not what it looks like, okay?"

Her squirming stilled and I felt her head nod. Slowly, I removed my hand. Good, there was still a chance to salvage this mess.

"Alright, grab your apron and tell Nanami that I'm not home yet. I'll change my clothes and go out through the window..." I trailed off as I realized that Mikan's eyes had taken on a familiar glaze and her gaze had fixated on a certain part of my body.

"Uh...Mikan?" She took a step closer. I took a step back.

"Master Ranma...smells nice," she said dreamily. I took another step back. She took another step forward.

Her tail was twitching from side to side, as though she was about to pounce. Her ears were raised and attentive, focused on my position, and her small pink tongue was slowly moving over her lips. She took another step forward. My legs hit the edge of the bed. Crap.

At this point, I was ready to take the window, shredded clothing or not. If Nanami saw this, I'd probably die of embarrassment long before she had a chance to kill me. Without a second thought to my modesty, I darted towards the closed window, intent on doing my best Matrix impression. Unfortunately, I had miscalculated one small yet rather vital detail.

Mikan was a CAT-girl, complete with reflexes and instincts.

The minute I took a step towards the window, Mikan pounced with all the grace and agility her parent race was famous for. One second I was running, and the next my vision was filled with a cute, amorous cat-girl rubbing her cheek against mine with her legs wrapped around my waist and her full body purrs sending shivers down my spine.

Frantically, I tried to keep my balance, but it was a hopeless endeavor. I fell roughly onto my bed, partly on top of Mineth. Amazingly, it didn't seem to wake her, but at the same time, her arms wrapped themselves around me, pulling me close and pressing her generous assets against my back.

Mikan didn't even seem to notice the other person, instead deciding to take advantage of my restrained state to begin cleaning the sweat off my face in true cat style. There was little I could do except lay there and endure the exquisite torture. Mineth had my arms pinned at my sides while Mikan had her weight pressed against me and her legs tangled with mine, running her rough tongue up and down my face.

Slowly, her caresses moved towards my mouth as her hands moved down my back. Roughly, she licked my lips, as if demanding entrance. Blushing furiously, I tried to deny her, feeling my own sanity slowly ebb away as the Neko-ken instincts flared within me, disturbingly clear on what I should be doing with a willing cat-girl prostrating herself before me. Amazingly, the fear I normally felt in conjunction with the Neko-ken was almost non-existant, being replaced by something...entirely different.

The revelation was short lived though, as Mikan's hands had reached a sweet spot on my back, causing me to groan in satisfaction. Capitalizing on the opening, Mikan kissed me for all I was worth. I couldn't tell how long she held my mouth captive, only that she had to breathe eventually. I had perhaps a second to take in a breath before she attacked again, deepening the kiss, seemingly putting her entire body into the motion.

Behind me, the bunny-girl stirred in her sleep, tightening her grip on my chest and throwing one of her bronze colored legs across my waist. I was well and truly trapped. Mikan seemed to realize this and brought one of her hands out from behind my back, slowly trailing it down my ripped shirt. My panicked look only seemed to encourage her, as she gave a small grin and paused in her movement, inches away from my shredded boxers.

"Mikan!" I whispered harshly, trying (and failing) to hide my...condition. Her grin only got wider as her hand went lower-

"Hey Mikan what's taking you so-"

The sound of the door opening echoed like thunder in my ears. On one hand, my virginity was safe for another day, despite the best efforts of the overly amorous demi-humans on my bed. On the other hand...

"Ranma?" Nanami's voice was eerily calm. "What the hell is going on here?"

I wasn't really sure what to say at this point, so I went with my old standby.

"Would you believe that this was a complete accident and in absolutely no way my fault?" I tried hopefully.

She was silent for a very long second. I could imagine her staring at the scene, at the bare breasted bunny-girl pressed against my back, at the simply clothed cat-girl attached to my front with her hand near dangerous territory, and my own self with shredded clothing.

"No Ranma. No, I don't."

Damn. Well, can't say I didn't try.

* * *

A/N: For those of you that don't know (or haven't taken the time to look through the reviews and find someone who does know), this story is a semi-crossover with an old visual novel from Japan. Which one? Well...that's not important. Really. Just remember that this is M rated for a reason.

Mineth is an original character from a very obvious game. If you can't tell which one (or at least have an idea) then you automatically lose two points to your nerd quotient. Also, yes. I do believe Malboros are quite stealthy. How else would they freaking ambush you all the time?

Last but not least, the "Flamers" forum has started up again with a brand new name and all new threads. Go check it out if you're interested in getting in-depth reviews for your own stories, and make sure to check out the thread "The Fanfic Critic." Speaking of reviews, all comments and criticisms are welcome and appreciated.

Till next time.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: And with that, Cat's Paw has outstripped all my other stories in every way except for hits and reviews, although if I write another fifteen chapters, it's only a matter of time. But until that time comes, please enjoy Cat's Paw, chapter four.

* * *

I wasn't really sure what Nanami was planning to do now that she'd seen this...situation, but I was still rather surprised when she just turned and left the room, leaving the door open. Before I could fathom what she was thinking, I heard the telltale signs of water running from the sink.

Seconds later she was back, this time with a very full glass of water. Never deviating from her neutral expression, Nanami upended the glass on Mikan's head, causing me to wince both at her ear-splitting yowl and claws digging into my chest. It had the desired effect though, as Mikan's eyes suddenly regained focus, along with a healthy color of red from our position.

Almost faster than my eye could track, Mikan had jumped off the bed, grabbed her apron, and dashed from the room, leaving me with Nanami giving me an evil eye.

"Would you like a glass?" she asked sweetly.

Adrenaline surged through my body, helping me break free of Mineth's grip. Zipping over to my dresser, I quickly pulled out a set of clothes, changing faster than I'd ever had before, barely showing more than a flash of skin.

"So, is this another _gift_ from the cat-god? Or is it a bunny-god this time?"

I ignored her quip, deciding that my time was better spent buttoning my shirt and pushing her out of the room, loudly shutting the door behind me.

* * *

"So...you went downtown to check out an explosion..."

"Right."

"...fought something called a Malboro..."

"Right."

"...and found a bunny-girl who immediately starting molesting you the minute you brought her here..."

"Right."

"...and you really expect me to believe that?"

I groaned and palmed my face in exasperation. A quiet cough behind me alerted me to my cat-maid coming back with tea. Giving a grateful smile, I took a cup and a long drink before she scurried back to the kitchen, probably doing her best to stay away from Nanami's aura.

Resisting the urge to sigh, I tried to think of a way to prove myself. One side of me just wanted to ignore the whole thing. Why did I have to prove myself to her anyways? It's not like she had any control over who I...er...well, yeah. The answer to that was easy though. I didn't like being thought of as a pervert. Even so, how was I going to prove it when no one else had-

Wait a second, I just destroyed an entire building. There's no way no one hadn't noticed it. Grabbing the television remote, I flipped on the TV. Since I never watched the thing, it was already defaulted to the news channel.

"...standing in front of the remains of an office building that was once owned by the company Fairy Tale." The camera zoomed out to give a wide view of the building that seemed to have simply collapsed in on itself. "The cause is still unknown, but bystanders reported several gasses coming from the building before its collapse. The going theory at this time is a gas explosion but-"

I shut the set off and looked at Nanami expectantly. She rolled her eyes. "Okay fine, so the malboro might be real, but I'm still trying to figure out how a fight downtown turned into a threesome ten minutes later."

* * *

"Nothing happened!" I thought about that for a second. "Well...nothing like what you're thinking!"

"It's true," said Mikan quietly from behind Nanami. "Ranma's still a virgin."

I groaned and let my head drop on the table. Thanks for that Mikan, and if I came through this situation with my dignity intact, we were going to have a long talk about the kinds of things you shouldn't say to a guy's sister.

"Well, thank god for small miracles," said Nanami sarcastically. "So, why did this one want to jump you? Was she affected by the heat too?"

"Hey, it was the malboro's fault," I protested. "That stupid toxin did something to her head."

"And you, a martial artist who can wave his hands in the air and turn trees into matchsticks, couldn't overpower the cute amorous bunny-girl?"

"She wasn't the only one who fought that damn thing. I got a mouthful of the stuff too."

Nanami gave me a half-lidded stare. "So are you about to jump someone then?"

"No!"

"Oh so the toxin is selective then?"

"Yes." Mikan had rejoined the conversation, nursing a cup of her own tea.

"Wait, so those things are from your realm?" asked Nanami

Mikan thought about it for a minute. "Not exactly. I think they're from a neighboring realm we call the bunny kingdom."

"How original."

"I've never seen one," continued the cat-girl, "but I've heard that their toxin can have any number of horrible effects."

Letting out a sigh, Nanami flopped backwards onto the ground. "Okay, fine. I believe you. So what do you plan on doing with your newest stray?"

I sighed and mimicked Nanami's position, resting on the ground and looking at the ceiling. "I have no clue. The cat god said it was a one way trip, but she's not even from the same realm as Nanami." And for some strange reason, I kind of doubted that they held the same deity. "I wonder if there's a way to contact the bunny-god."

"The cat-god has a facebook page," said Mikan helpfully.

I blinked. Somehow I wasn't nearly as surprised as I should have been. "Does he post the secrets of breaking the space-time continuum on his blog?"

Mikan thought about it for a minute. "No, usually he just shows pictures of himself at the beach or the mountains with Bast."

"I take it there aren't a whole lot of religious wars in your world," deadpanned Nanami.

"No, it's a very peaceful place."

"Yes, that's really interesting, but what are we going to do about our newest house guest?" I interrupted.

"You brought her here. What were you planning on doing?"

"Give her a room for the night, finding out how far out of her home dimension she is, and seeing if any more of those creatures came through with her," I responded simply. What else was I supposed to do?

Nanami sighed. "You know we're already stretching the rules of this apartment with Mikan staying here. These rooms were only meant for one person."

"Then I'll get her a job so she can get her own room." I said determinedly. "I know we have the space."

"You're starting to develop a habit of picking up strays, you know that?"

"Maybe I am. Probably because I used to be one."

That brought her up short. I hadn't meant to sound accusatory, but the visible flinch on Nanami's face told me I'd unintentionally hit a sore spot.

"Look, it's not that big of a deal," she said a bit hurriedly. "You'd probably have to have a dozen people living in this room before mom would start complaining."

I gave her a small smile. "I certainly hope the cat-god didn't screw up that badly." Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the cat-maid looking slightly apprehensive. All the talk about apartment space was probably getting to her again. Not for the first time, I wondered what had happened back on her home world to make her so skittish? Thinking quickly, I pulled Mikan into a one-armed hug. "Although if Mineth is anything like Mikan, I'm not going to complain."

Nanami nodded thoughtfully, catching on to my play. "True. She does pull her weight around here, and she's definitely a better cook than you." Mikan turned bright red at this and politely excused herself to the kitchen to see to the food.

In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but think how odd it was that Mikan could act so shy normally, and yet so ready to pounce on me given the right conditions. "Hey, I'd like to see how well you cook on a campfire."

The light bickering helped to soothe the somewhat tense atmosphere and by the time Mikan came around with the food, the conversation had left the issue of Mineth behind. Although that didn't stop Mikan from being the most interesting conversation topic at the table.

"So you share a border with the bunny kingdom?" asked Nanami.

"Yep. Along with the dog kingdom."

Now there was an interesting bit of geography. "The cat kingdom is next to the dog kingdom? That can't be very peaceful."

"Oh no, we're actually on very good terms. A lot of our police force comes from the dog kingdom too."

Dogs policing cats? I guess that made sense...

"Have you ever been to the other kingdoms?"

"Once or twice," affirmed the cat-girl. "The bunny kingdom is a great vacation spot. They've got resorts, casinos, and nice hotels too."

"Do they have a bunny-god?" asked Nanami jokingly.

"Goddess," corrected Mikan. "She has a facebook page too if you want to look at it."

Making a mental note to never ever make an account on facebook, I shook my head. "Maybe later."

"You know it's amazing that they have any followers at all," said Nanami snidely.

"Oh she's got almost four-thousand followers on twitter."

* * *

After dinner, Nanami left briefly and returned with a futon and pillow, taking great care to place it as far away from Mikan's sleeping place as possible. After shooting one last warning glance at the cat-girl, she left, quietly closing the door behind her.

Letting out a sigh I didn't know I was holding, I rolled my shoulders and neck, working out the kinks, wincing, as the scratches Mikan had given me chose that moment to flare up. Damn. Apparently that toxin was taking up all my healing energy. Usually I bounced back from scratches like these in seconds. Oh well, not like I was a stranger to pain.

Mikan, however, had not missed my grimace. Before I could start removing my vest, the cat-maid had quickly moved in front of me and began unbuttoning it. "Are you feeling okay master Ranma?" she asked demurely.

"Just fine," I said quickly. A little too quickly it seemed, as Mikan continued her task, revealing my white undershirt, slightly stained with a few spots of blood. Eyes widening slightly, Mikan hurriedly relieved me of my clothing, despite my protests.

Honestly, the four bright red marks across my chest looked a lot worse than they felt. However, it was bad enough to send Mikan into a panic.

"I-I'm so sorry Ran- Master Ranma, a-are you- I am-"

"Mikan."

"I-I-I didn't mean- I mean, I didn't want to, I mean-"

"Mikan!"

"Please don't let me go, I'll try harder, I won't touch you at-"

"MIKAN!"

Her stuttering cut off abruptly as I grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look into my eyes.

"Y-yes?" she asked meekly.

"I'm okay. Now, there's a first aid kit in my room. Can you get it for me please?"

"O-of course!"

Moving as quietly as she could so as not to disturb Mineth, she ran into my room, returning seconds later with the already opened medical kit. Before I could assure her that I could care for myself, she was already dabbing at my scratches with a cotton swab. Her hands were steady but I could tell she was nervous by the constant motion of her tail and the twitch of her ears.

That, in turn, was making me more than a little nervous, provoking my flee on sight instinct a bit more than was comfortable. I was just about to physically move away from her touch when Mikan's voice cut through my dilemma.

"Ranma, why are you afraid of cats?"

I blinked at the unexpected question. "Huh?"

"When Bast sent me here, she told me to be careful around you and go slow so you wouldn't be afraid of me," she said quite frankly. I blushed a little in embarrassment. Minus the cat parts, Mikan was about as frightening and dangerous as a pile of feathers.

"She never did tell me why though," she continued on, her nervousness slowly disappearing as she talked.

"It's...not something I like to talk about," I got out after a moments hesitation.

Mikan only smiled and nodded. "You can tell me when you're ready."

The silence continued but my mind was abuzz with thoughts. I'd never told anyone the full extent of the neko-ken training. Even Nanami's mother only thought I simply had a bad experience once or twice as a child. My constant meditations, trainings, and self-discipline had helped to hide just how bad my phobia really was.

"I was...four when it happened," I began shakily. Almost without my consent, the words started coming out. "My...dad wanted me to be the greatest martial artist in the world to carry on his legacy, so when he took me from home to go on a training trip, he was searching everywhere for legendary training grounds, renowned teachers, and unbeatable techniques."

Mikan finished cleaning my wounds and slowly packed up the med-kit as I talked.

"He was a thief, and a good one too. One night, he lifted several scrolls from some sort of monastery, full of techniques that were deemed too dangerous to teach. Didn't stop him though. He found one that only worked on very young kids called the c-cat fist."

Shakily, I let out a breath to calm my nerves. I hadn't stuttered on saying the c-word in a long time. As if sensing my distress, Miakn moved around to my back and began rubbing my shoulders with her tiny hands. Unconsciously, I could feel myself relaxing. Encouraged, I continued my story.

"It was supposed to be unbeatable. It said that the technique would turn anyone into an unstoppable warrior when in the presence of cats. The training was simple. Bind the trainee from head to foot in fish sausage and toss him into a pit of starving cats."

The massage stopped for a single second before continuing, albeit a bit slower this time. "What happened?" she asked softly.

I shuddered at the recollection. Dozens of yellow eyes staring at me as I was slowly lowered into the pit. Claws tearing at me from every angle. Sharp teeth, grasping the offered food, then biting the skin when there was none left. I remembered screaming myself horse. I couldn't find the words for it.

"It didn't work," I said instead, shaking off the dark thoughts as best I could. "The minute I saw a c-cat after getting out of that pit, I panicked and ran. My dad...thought he did something wrong, so he tried it...two more times, using different foods and keeping me down there longer each time."

Mikan stopped her massage, and entwined her arms around my neck, hugging me softly from behind, resting her head on my shoulder. It was...comforting.

"After the third attempt, I...snapped. I don't know what happened, but the clearing I woke in was completely leveled and there was blood everywhere. Pops...never told me whose it was."

There was more to the story of course, such as the repressed memories of my childhood, and my decision to run away from my father six years later, but I wasn't ready to talk about those things just yet. I found it amazing that I was able to talk about this much, considering I'd only known Mikan for little more than a day. Something about her just made it easy.

A long minute of silence passed, me staring at the ground while Mikan gently held me from behind. Finally, she spoke up.

"It's not hopeless."

"Huh?"

Her arms unfurled from around my neck before slipping under my shoulders to hug my chest.

"Bast sent me here to help you with your fear."

Mikan's voice was getting softer as she turned her head to speak directly into my ear. I could feel her warm breath on my face sending shivers down my spine.

"I think the best way to help your fear of cats...is to show you how good cats can be."

I shuddered as she let out a mewl, but calmed when she started her unique full-body purr. Her hands were at work now, giving a massage to my chest.

"Relax," she purred softly. My mind felt like it was being pulled in two directions. One part was telling me to flee, to get away from the enemy I had let close. The other part was practically melting under the massage. Expertly, Mikan maneuvered me so I was lying face down on the futon. Straddling my back, she continued the exercise.

_Damn_ she was good. Aside from releasing the tension in my back, I could also feel my ki returning to the places that the malboro had shut off. After three minutes under her hands, the scratches on my chest had almost healed, and only faint wisps of the toxin remained. Why had anyone ever wanted to fire her in the first place?

Actually, that was a good question. I wanted to ask her, but my body was feeling rather lethargic and I couldn't seem to get my mouth working.

"The best way to fight fear," she continued in her soft voice, "is with happiness and pleasure." She moved lower, getting closer to my ear as she massaged my back. "I may not be able to do much, but I hope I can give you that."

Wearily, I turned my head to the side, trying to reassure her that she'd already done very well, but before I could say anything, Mikan fully pressed herself against me, leaning her head to the side to capture my lips with hers. It was short, sweet, and feather light. The first kiss she'd given me completely of her own accord. I couldn't find anything to say, but apparently she wasn't expecting anything.

"Good night, master," she said softly before getting up and placing a blanket over me. Seconds later I was out like a light.

* * *

For the second time since her ill fated fight, she awoke in an unfamiliar place. Her mind was a bit blurry. She remembered a hume-like city, the malboro attacking, getting a mouthful of the toxin, a male hume, and then...nothing.

Her long white ears twitched as she heard the sounds of something moving in the room beyond, along with the sound of running water. Gracefully, she pulled the covers aside, shivering slightly as cool air caressed her bare chest.

Wait...why was she naked?

Throwing the remaining blankets aside, she sighed in relief as she noticed her lower garments still in place. However...

Her nose twitched as she scented the air. The male's scent was heavy in this place, along with...hers? Glancing down at her legs, her face started to turn a deep shade of red as she identified the smell.

* * *

CRASH!

The sudden noise jerked me awake. Was Nanami pissed? No, the entrance door wasn't off it's hinges. Mikan was already awake and making breakfast so...

Turning slowly, I looked towards the entrance to my room to see the door thrown open, revealing the tall, dark-skinned, barely clothed house guest I had picked up yesterday.

And she looked pissed.

Her eyes locked with mine. "You!"

I blinked. "Me?"

"How dare you take advantage of my weakened state!"

I blinked again. "What?"

"Don't insult me with your ignorance hume! Die!"

Did her hands just catch fire? No time to think about that now, dodge!

Her fist crashed into the place I'd been sitting on seconds earlier, a burning smell soon following. Guess that answered that question.

"Wait -duck- I can -roll- explain!" Letting her fist pass me by, I grabbed her arm in a lock, making sure to keep the burning appendage away from me.

"Do you deny spilling your seed on me hume?"

"Well...uh..."

"DIE!"

For a brief moment her entire body seemed to catch on fire, giving me a nice burn before I was able to jump away. Suddenly, her hand darted over to the corner, grabbing a broom that Mikan had probably been using beforehand. The handle immediately caught on fire, burning the broom part at the end, but leaving the handle intact...yet still on fire.

Now I was a bit hard pressed to dodge, especially in the confined space of my apartment. Call me a coward if you will but I _really_ didn't want to block that thing. While her unarmed combat was average at best, she'd obviously had extensive pole-arm training, as it was getting harder to dodge as her combinations and forms became more intricate.

"Quit dodging and take responsibility!"

"Responsibility for what?"

"Don't play stupid hume!"

Her improvised staff was little more than a fiery blur now, her speed matching her ever rising anger. Pretty soon I was going to have to move this to a more open area, or suffer a few burns...or my apartment would burn down. How was she doing that anyways?

There would be time to trade techniques later. Right now I needed to take this outside. Rolling under one of her horizontal swings, I ran towards the door, arriving just in time for Nanami to open it.

"Hey-Nanami-I-wont-be-going-to-school-today-I-have-to-deal-with-my-house-guest-save-some-breakfast-for-me-bye!"

"Get back here you coward!"

Not wasting any more time on conversation, I jumped to the roofs, making my way towards the park.

* * *

Nanami stared for a few brief moments at Ranma's fading figure before shaking her head and walking inside. Mikan was humming a mindless little tune while calmly going around and putting out the fires that had started around the apartment.

"I take it she didn't wake up in a very good mood," she said frankly.

"Oh I'm sure Ranma will be able to calm her down eventually."

* * *

"Will you just calm down?"

"NEVER!"

Mineth had proved herself to be a capable roof hopper, staying right on my tail as I led her to the park. I briefly considered drawing her into the surrounding trees so as to avoid any early park goers, but the burning staff in her hand made me decide that a few curious observers would be far better than a potential forest fire.

"What are you so angry about?" I shouted to her as I landed in the middle of a clearing in the park.

Mineth wasted no time in resuming her attack, the brightly burning flames adding another level of intimidation to the twirling motions of her staff.

"You still act ignorant hume? Even after you violated me?"

I stumbled at her accusation, nearly falling into one of her blows. "What? I did not!" Putting some distance between us, I patted out the small fire that had started on the collar of my shirt. "Besides, you were the one who grabbed me!"

Right after I said it, I knew it was the wrong thing to say. The red flames that had wreathed her staff suddenly winked out, only to be replaced a moment later with white fire. I could feel the heat even from five feet away.

"You...DIE!"

The park suddenly erupted into a maelstrom of energy as I _quickly_ learned that Mineth was capable of much more than just setting her hands on fire. The ground rumbled and shook as small sharp pillars of earth bean erupting from the ground at the same time as she began her attack, trying to herd me into her staffs blows.

Fortunately, there was about a second of delay between each of her magic attacks and I could feel the slight trembles in the ground well enough to predict where the stalagmites would come up. It didn't make her any less dangerous though, as getting within an inch of her staff was enough to burn me. I was also still a little reluctant to strike her over a misunderstanding, so I stuck to dodging in the hopes that she would eventually tire herself out...preferably before I caught on fire.

"What's the matter hume?" she spat nastily as I danced around another series of her strikes. "Don't want to touch someone when they're fighting back?"

Ignoring the implied vibe, I flipped backwards, coming to rest on top of one of the earthen spires. "Look, I didn't do any-"

"LIGHTNING!"

Her shout was followed with a thrust of her staff into the air. A small rumble was the only warning I got before the left side of my body suddenly went numb, causing me to loose my balance and tumble from my perch on the stone.

Taking advantage of my momentary paralysis, Mineth charged my prone position, striking at my face. Shifting as best I could, I managed to take the blow on my shoulder, biting back a cry of pain as the flames easily burned through my silk shirt and licked at my skin. Lashing out with my good leg, I managed to kick her hands away, using her stumble to recover as best I could.

Fortunately, my body was quickly recovering, moving from a completely numb state to a 'pins and needles' phase. Annoying as hell, but I could fight through it. Of course, mild paralysis was the least of my problems.

"WINTER'S BREATH!"

I didn't have the first clue as to how her techniques worked, but even I wanted to call foul as she shot a freezing cold blast of air from her right hand while holding the flaming broom handle in her left. The attack had a wide range, so I took cover behind one of her previously uprooted earthen spikes as the ground turned white around us. This was really getting out of hand.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, I abandoned my cover as the frost shower died down, just in time for the structure to shatter, raining stones where I was standing just a second ago.

Okay, enough was enough. If this went on much longer, she'd probably destroy the whole park. Watching the movement of her staff carefully, I saw her thrust it into the air. That meant-

"LIGHTNING!"

I was ready for it this time. Kicking off the frost covered ground, I sprinted at her, moving in a random zigzag pattern, feeling the brush of electricity against my skin as the raining bolts failed to find their mark. In another second, I had closed with her, forcing her to abandon the elemental onslaught. I began with a series of feints, careful not to connect with her still burning staff.

Finally, she gave me an opening. With a quick chop, I connected with her wrist before taking a small step back and performing a snap kick, sending the staff flying away in two pieces. Even moving as fast as I was, I still felt the burn. The loss of her weapon didn't seem to phase her though, as she cupped her hand together, letting loose a torrent of fire.

I was almost caught unprepared, but I was expecting some sort of close range elemental attack from her and the only casualty was another of my shirts as I ducked under the sudden blast of flame. Unfortunately, the ground was incredibly slick right next to her though, and the sharp movement caused me to fall onto my back.

Desperately, I rolled away as as her trail of flame followed me. Getting a good distance apart, I regained my feet and ran at her again, hoping to surprise her out of any other magic she had planned. Too bad for me that lightning moved a hell of a lot faster than fire. The blast from her hands hit me full force, sending sharp lances of pain all throughout my body like earlier, only about a hundred times worse.

My muscles locked up, not responding to the commands in my brain, my body carrying itself forward on the momentum I had built up. I didn't need to see Mineth's wide eyed look to realize she hadn't expected me to keep moving forward. Unable to dodge out of the way in time, the two of us went down in a tangle of limbs.

The sudden impact gave my brain a jump start as Mineth began squirming beneath me, trying to lift my superior weight. The next few moments were a bit hazy for me as the two of us wrestled on the ground for a bit, martial arts and magic pretty much forgotten. It was an even match, with my half paralyzed body and sluggish movements, trying to restrain her hands clawing at my face. With a surprisingly strong heave, the two of us rolled over, Mineth straddling my waist. For a moment, I thought that she'd attempt another magic blast, but instead her hands went for my throat, attempting to cut off my air supply, her face a picture of rage.

Despite my lack of air, I was still somewhat grateful she hadn't decided to give me a face full of fire instead. It was my turn to struggle now as I tried to roll over again, but my body didn't seem up to the task. Reaching out with my hands, I attempted to hit a nerve in her shoulder but my hands fell short, coming to rest on...

Mineth's body froze, allowing me to take in a breath, as I felt something soft and supple in my hand.

"Aah!"

The bunny-girl's eyes widened as I unintentionally squeezed her breast. In an instant, her hands had left my neck and were working to pry my offending limb away from her chest. Thinking back on it, I could tell that I probably wasn't in the best frame of mind, having just been shocked, burned, frozen, and choked within the last thirty seconds, but I knew that as long as she was distracted with...that, she wasn't cutting off my air supply.

My second hand quickly joined the attack, slipping underneath the fabric of her bra and massaging her smooth bare skin for all I was worth.

"No! Stop that you- Ahh!" She let out another stifled squeak as I gave her a sharp pinch. Apparently she still had some remnants of the malboro toxin in her. Her hands were still tugging at mine, but her struggles were weakening while my motor control was returning. With a surge of strength, I reversed our positions again, my hands keeping up the attack.

Were she thinking clearly, she probably could have taken a shot at my face, or any other part of my body, but instead her hands continued to battle mine, trying vainly to tug them away as I ran my fingers over her thin covering. Finally, I felt her body shudder and her grip slacken completely as she violently arched into me and my own arousal. Letting out a long, hot breath, I rolled off to the side, laying next to her as she regained her senses.

We must have lain there on the cold ground for about thirty seconds in a mixture of lust and embarrassment. Finally, I decided to venture a comment. "Are you okay Mineth?"

She didn't respond immediately. Turning my head to the side, I saw the girl staring at me with wide eyes. "You know my name?" she asked in a bit of a daze.

"Yeah, you uh...told it to me while I was carrying you away from the malboro attack," I provided earnestly, hoping to spark some recognition in her memory.

A myriad of emotions crossed her face. Suspicion, surprise, disbelief, embarrassment, even the hint of a blush colored her dark cheeks for a second or two. Her mouth opened once, and then closed, no words coming out. On the second attempt, she finally got some out.

"You mean-"

"Yes."

"You and I-"

"Yes."

"And we-"

"It was the malboro's fault."

"But you-"

"He got me too."

Silence. This one seemed to stretch out even longer. Suddenly, I felt my head being lifted from the ground as Mineth grabbed the collar of my shirt, bringing her face inches away from mine, her face set in a mixture of anger and shame.

"You speak of this to no one," she said in a dark voice. "Ever."

I held up my hands in surrender. "No one is going to hear it from me."

Her eyes narrowed. "You swear?"

"On my life as a martial artist," I said without hesitation. Seriously, did people actually _talk_ about this kind of thing with other people? Just the though of doing so made me embarrassed.

"Don't even think about it."

"Hey come on now..."

"I mean it!"

"Okay fine! I promise not to think about it."

"...you're thinking about it right now!"

"I am not!"

* * *

The short but heated battle we'd fought had cut a wide swath of destruction , consisting of upturned earth, burnt grass, and patches of ice along the ground. Fortunately, it was early enough for the park to be pretty much empty and Mineth was able to hide most of the damage by withdrawing the stone spikes back into the earth.

The magic had fatigued her though, leaving her swaying unsteadily on her feet as she tried to walk in my direction, the earlier battle catching up to her as the adrenaline faded. Before she could fall though, I was at her side, steadying her.

"Would you...like some help?" I asked hesitantly.

Taking a deep breath, she sighed, her face showing resignation. "Fine. But you never speak of this either."

"Trust me," I said, gently picking her up bridal style, "no one is even going to see us."

I had been banged up pretty badly in the fight, but I had recovered much better than Mineth had the previous night and had only gotten partial exposure to the malboro's toxin to begin with. Bottom line: no one saw anything more than a blur as I passed through the park and took to the rooftops.

"What is your name?" asked Mineth a I ran.

"Ranma Aoba," I responded.

"Ranma...do you know...where I am right now?" Her words came out haltingly, as if she feared the answer.

Well, it didn't look like I'd be going to school today so I had time.

"Yeah, that's actually a bit of a story. Do you know anything about the cat god?"

Confused, she shook her head.

"Er...do you know anything about a rabbit kingdom?"

Another head shake. The hell? Almost instinctively, my mind jumped to a different conclusion altogether.

"Mineth...do you see...anything familiar here at all?"

"No," she said resolutely. "This place is completely...alien to me."

That cinched it. Mineth wasn't from the same dimension as the cat-god, she was from an entirely different dimension altogether. That familiar cold feeling of dread was creeping up my spine again. Just how badly did that stupid cat-god screw up?

* * *

_Somewhere in a super top-secret undisclosed location between dimensions..._

The cat-god nodded in satisfaction as he layered yet another spell on top of the numerous ones already in place atop the ornate wooden box. Picking it up carefully, he placed the box in a large adamantium safe, shutting it and locking it before lowering it into the ground and covering it up with a tatami mat, along with an additional illusion.

From the other room, Bast poked her head in, looking on as her husband secured the box.

"Is that-"

"The contract Ranma signed? Yep."

"So...why are you-"

"Just a percaution...that's all."

* * *

A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this super special awesome holiday chapter of Cat's Paw.

...okay so maybe it has nothing to do with the holidays, but I wish you all a merry Christmas nonetheless.


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